The Internet Watch Foundation reported that the number of AI-generated child sexual abuse images evaluated this year already exceeds last year's full total by 40 percent. Analysts at the UK-based organization reviewed 6,310 images that met the legal definition of child sexual abuse material during the first half of 2026, compared with 4,500 such images assessed for all of 2025. The group noted that the content is becoming increasingly photorealistic, complicating detection and removal efforts. These findings emerge amid broader concerns about artificial intelligence being weaponized to produce synthetic sexual abuse material, a trend that has prompted calls for stronger regulatory oversight and technological safeguards.