Engineering Without a Conscience? The Dark Side of AI and the Call for Ethical Rebellion from Nisarg Desai's Idea / Prospect

IntroductionIn the age of AI, engineers are unlocking unprecedented possibilities to reshape human life. But a growing number are choosing to exploit those powers—not to heal, educate, or uplift—but to materialize and objectify human bodies, especially women, through unethical deep learning applications like DeepFake porn, DeepNude generators, and nudification software. These tools, powered by open-source frameworks like TensorFlow and PyTorch, are being weaponized against humanity.

This article is a call to conscience—for engineers, researchers, developers, and students. It's time we examine how our tools are being used, and whether we’re shaping a future worth living in.

The Problem

1. Open Source, Open Abuse: TensorFlow, PyTorch, and similar frameworks were never meant to dehumanize. Yet today, they’re the backbone of underground communities creating deepfake pornography, often without consent. Pre-trained models and guides for face-swapping or nudifying victims are now just a search away.

2. Engineering Without Ethics: Many young developers, excited by the thrill of "what's possible," overlook the question of "what's right." This ethical vacuum has resulted in software that degrades dignity while being paraded as innovation.

3. Victims in Silence: Women—especially public figures and students—are increasingly being targeted. Most of these tools are deployed anonymously, making the pursuit of justice incredibly difficult. In many parts of the world, especially in India, laws exist but enforcement is slow, tech literacy in law enforcement is weak, and cultural stigmas keep victims from speaking up.

4. Demand and Desensitization: A disturbing digital culture fuels this. Mass consumption of non-consensual adult content generates demand, while platforms delay action. This isn't a fringe issue—it's becoming mainstream.

Disturbing Incidents That Demand Action

• In 2023, a viral case from South Korea revealed that high school students had used AI apps to generate nude images of classmates, causing national outrage and leading to emergency legislative reviews.

• In India, a 2024 incident involved AI-generated pornographic content falsely linked to a prominent woman journalist. Despite her public denial, the damage to her reputation was irreversible and the videos are still circulating.

• A 2022 report from The Washington Post detailed how GitHub repositories were hosting step-by-step guides and pre-trained models to create deepfake pornography, openly accessible for months before takedown.

• YouTube and Telegram have been complicit too: multiple channels and groups are actively promoting NSFW AI-generated content, some under the guise of “art” or “AI experiments.” Many remain online despite repeated reports.

The Role of Engineers

Engineers are not passive toolmakers. We are active participants in building the moral architecture of the digital world. Every piece of code we write either builds or breaks society. If we ignore where our models end up, we are complicit.

• We must adopt ethical development standards.

• We must build and support AI for defense, not destruction—like deepfake detection tools, authenticity watermarking, and consent-based modeling.

• We must call out and boycott platforms or repositories promoting unethical tech.

The Need for a Cultural Shift

In countries like India, there is little emotional or cultural attachment to engineering. Society idolizes godmen and film stars—but engineers, who shape the nation’s infrastructure, remain invisible. Until we restore dignity and responsibility to the engineering profession, it will continue to be hijacked by bad actors.

We must:

• Promote engineering ethics in colleges.

• Raise awareness through storytelling—highlight victims, expose harm, educate users.

• Hold our own accountable—just as the medical field regulates malpractice, we need tech peer-review and censure.

ConclusionWe are at a tipping point. The same algorithms that can bring clean water, predict disease, or connect remote classrooms are being used to violate people’s privacy, identity, and dignity. But we—engineers, developers, thinkers—still hold the power to rewrite this script.

Let’s not become the generation that built AI to destroy the soul of humanity. Let us be the ones who stood up and coded for conscience.

Call to Action:

• Share this article with your peers.

• Join the movement at engineersheaven.orgto advocate for ethical engineering.

• Speak out, build responsibly, and mentor others to do the same.