AI technology worker in Utah faces 10 felonies for child sex abuse material

SANDY — A man accused of creating AI-generated child sex abuse material using the faces of real children is now facing charges.

Burke Clark Powers, 48, was charged last week with four counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, a first-degree felony; and six counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.

The investigation began in November when Powers' ex-wife "located what appeared to be AI-generated images" on his computer and cloud storage account, according to charging documents. She "further described that it appeared (Powers) had been scanning yearbook photos and using them to create the child sex abuse material."

The woman turned over cloud storage folders, a hard drive, tower and thumb drive to the FBI.

On July 22, the Utah Attorney General's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force served a search warrant on Powers' Sandy home.

"(He) admitted that he had created AI pornographic images in the past, at the same time as those found in his cloud storage account. (Powers) admitted to using faces of individuals he was friends with in high school and college," the charges state.

When asked about the AI-generated images of children, Burke claimed those were created "by accident multiple times," a police booking affidavit states.

Investigators also noted in their affidavit that at the time of his arrest, Burke worked as the chief technology officer at an AI company.

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