Utah AI company executive arrested for allegedly generating explicit images of minors
Published at | Updated at
Sorina Trauntvein, ABC4
PLEASANT GROVE, Utah (ABC4) — The chief technology officer of a Utah-based AI company is accused of using photos of real minors and adult friends to AI-generate explicit images.
Burke Clark Powers, 48, was arrested on 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony. He has yet to be formally charged.
According to court documents, Utah County Sheriff’s Office detectives were contacted by a concerned woman who reported that she discovered AI-generated explicit images of a minor relative on her ex-husband’s computer and Google Drive.
She explained to police that it also appeared that Powers had been “scanning yearbook photos into the program that he was using.”
The incident was reported to the FBI National Threat Operations Center, and the ex-wife provided a copy of the folder containing “numerous” other folders from the Google Drive account.
A detective reviewed one of the images, confirmed it was child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and filed for a search warrant on the Google account. After it was approved, law enforcement discovered “a large quantity of AI-generated images and videos, including adult pornography and CSAM.”
Several images that were used to create the CSAM of the minor victim were located, as well as explicit images of children that officers were unsure whether they featured real children or were completely AI-generated.
Also in the drive, Powers had used AI to put adult friends’ faces onto pornographic images.
While looking into Powers, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office learned that he is the chief technology officer and part-owner of a Utah-based AI company. ABC4.com has attempted to contact that company and confirm his employment.
On July 22, deputies served a search warrant at Powers’ residence and took him into custody. During questioning, he denied creating the AI-generated CSAM and said he had “no idea how that would have happened.”
Powers later admitted to making images of children “by accident,” but claimed he would delete them right away and tried to avoid terms that generated minors. He was arrested and booked into the Utah County Jail, but has since been released.
Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.