AI Loves Boobies: Unpacking Harmful Imaginaries in Community-Based Generative AI

We invite a visual exploration and critique of imagery that can be (re)produced through open-source models available in Civitai - a repository where creators share and monetize custom text-to-image models. The proliferation of these models contributes to the creation and distribution of Non-Consensual Synthetic Intimate Imagery (NCSII), a digitally-mediated form of image-based sexual abuse that primarily affects women and girls, commonly referred to as "deepfake porn."We examine the practices surrounding the creation and sharing of custom open-source models designed to produce photorealistic content. Through a qualitative content analysis of 510 models and 3800 images, we illustrate the imaginaries about sex, bodies, and gender expressions that models embody and perpetuate, as well as how model creators understand their practices in relation to potential harms and misuse. We discuss pathways for feminist intervention and the care practices we embedded into our research process, and the design of this pictorial.