Survivors recount lasting harm as Minnesota moves to ban AI nudification tools

At a press event announcing the state ban, survivor Megan Hurley said she discovered hyperrealistic pornographic images made from private photos and described an ongoing state of grief and distrust. "I have never taken nudes. I have never exchanged nudes with anyone, but now there are convincing pornographic images and videos of me somewhere online for forever," Hurley said, describing the long-term emotional toll.

Jessica Gasteles said a person she trusted used family photos to create pornographic images of her and "more than 80 women," and described how the images followed her into her workplace and private life. "This technology doesn't just live on a screen. It follows me," she said, explaining the difficulty of knowing where images circulate and who has seen them. Molly Kelly recounted being targeted while pregnant and said the stress affected her health and employment, arguing personal caution cannot prevent automated abuse.

Survivors told lawmakers that, while downstream remedies such as takedown processes exist, they are resource-intensive and often inaccessible. Speakers said the new law aims to block the specialized tools that make such abuse easy and inexpensive to produce rather than relying solely on individual takedown efforts.