Holy hyperbole, batman! Threaten to overwhelm the internet!
Someone's hungry for clicks today, eh, The Guardian?
AI-generated CSAM is illegal under the Protection of Children Act 1978, which criminalises the taking, distribution and possession of an “indecent photograph or pseudo photograph” of a child.
Aaaand there you go. This is nothing new. There have been laws on the books for decades to help deal with this exact problem. Someone just slapped "AI" on the story to gin up worry.
I agree with your assessment wholly. There was a case in the US (don't recall the details) maybe 15 years ago or so where the "cp" was actually drawings of the Simpson's children nude. Judge held that it didn't matter if it was real or fake. This sort of thing isn't new.
I only came to comment that I would not have predicted that AI would be used this way, but am not at all surprised by it.
Probably longer than most people but I often make the mistake of believing that humans tend to strive for good in spite of everything that indicates otherwise.
Didn't the Simpson's movie from 16 years ago get away with showing Bart's genitals? Are we still leaning on the "know it when I see it" definition of sexually explicit material?