In June last year, Jessica Guistolise, a technology consultant, received a text message that would upend her life. Dining with colleagues on a work trip in Oregon, she was contacted by an acquaintance, Jenny, who said she had urgent information about her estranged husband, Ben.

What followed was a two-hour late-night call that left Guistolise shaken. Jenny revealed she had discovered more than 80 women’s social media photos on Ben’s computer, altered into explicit deepfake pornography. Most of the women were from the Minneapolis area.

Screenshots Jenny captured showed that Ben used DeepSwap, one of several so-called “nudify” websites that have proliferated since generative AI’s rapid rise. These tools allow users to strip clothing from images or superimpose faces onto pornographic material with alarming ease.

When Guistolise returned home, she discovered some of her own photos had been manipulated, including snapshots from a family vacation and her goddaughter’s college graduation. “The first time I saw the actual images, I think something inside me shifted, like fundamentally changed,” she said.

What began as a personal nightmare soon became the catalyst for a larger movement. Victims, lawyers, abuse experts, cybersecurity researchers, and lawmakers began connecting to push back against the growing wave of AI-driven sexual exploitation.

Deepfake pornography, largely unregulated, has surged with the spread of AI tools. While tech companies scramble to build safeguards, victims often face lasting trauma, reputational damage, and limited legal recourse.

“It’s not something that I would wish for on anybody,” Guistolise said.