One-time child actress Mara Wilson drew unto personal trauma she experienced in an essay she penned about the horrific implications of generative AI, whereas it comes to child sex abuse materials (CSAM).
Wilson, 38, said in a piece for The Guardian Sunday that while she felt safe making movies as a child, she feels anything but in a day and age where technology can be used to manipulate images.
‘From ages 5 to 13, I was a child actor,’ Wilson said. ‘And while as of late we’ve heard many horror stories about the abusive things that happened to child actors behind the scenes, I always felt safe while filming.’
Wilson has been seen in motion pictures such as 1996’s Matilda, 1993’s Mrs. Doubtfire and 1994’s Miracle on 34th Street.
Wilson said her first unfortunate run in with seeing her image doctored for nefarious purposes came before she started high school.
Wilson opened up in detail about the unseemly experiences age had that reflect the darkest side of fame.
One-time child actress Mara Wilson, 38, drew unto personal trauma she experienced in an essay she penned about the horrific implications of generative AI, whereas it comes to child sex abuse materials (CSAM). Pictured 2019 in LA
‘I’d been featured on fetish websites and Photoshopped into pornography,’ Wilson said. ‘Grown men sent me creepy letters.’
Wilson continued: ‘I wasn’t a beautiful girl – my awkward age lasted from about age 10 to about 25 – and I acted almost exclusively in family-friendly movies.
‘But I was a public figure, so I was accessible. That’s what child sexual predators look for: access. And nothing made me more accessible than the internet.’
‘It didn’t matter that those images “weren’t me,” or that the fetish sites were “technically” legal,” Wilson said.
Wilson described the grim discovery as ‘a painful, violating experience’ and ‘a living nightmare I hoped no other child would have to go through.’
Wilson in the piece voiced her concerns for people whose images might be used for CSAM, even if they have not been in the limelight.
‘It is now infinitely easier for any child whose face has been posted on the internet to be sexually exploited,’ Wilson said. ‘Millions of children could be forced to live my same nightmare.’
Wilson said that a necessary component amid a burgeoning AI market is to legally crack down on bad actors involved in the production of CSAM – including that tech giants that platform them.
Wilson, who now works as a writer and mental health advocate, pictured 2019 in LA
(L-R) Matthew Lawrence, Lisa Jakub, the late Robin Williams, Wilson and Sally Field seen in the 1993 movie Mrs Doubtfire
‘We need to be the ones demanding companies that allow the creation of CSAM be held accountable,’ Wilson said.
Wilson, who now works as a writer and mental health advocate, said the public needs ‘to be demanding legislation and technological safeguards.’
Wilson wrapped up in writing, ‘We also need to examine our own actions: nobody wants to think that if they share photos of their child, those images could end up in CSAM.
‘But it is a risk, one that parents need to protect their young children from, and warn their older children about … most of us want to prevent child endangerment and harassment. It’s time to prove it.’
