There's the idea that it makes abusing actual children more likely, but I wonder about that. Does rape porn make a person more likely to commit a rape? Do shooting games promote gun violence?

There's also the idea that drawn images which don't relate to real-world child abuse can offer therapeutic outlets for non-offending people suffering from pedophilia. Such material might make it less likely for children to be abused.

I think there's value in us asking and discussing the question, but that experts with proper scientific data are needed for an answer.

If it turned out to be harmless, but also not beneficial in protecting children, should it still be allowed? I know I'd feel better if most sites refused to host that kind of thing, but I can't really justify that stance in a logical way. I feel like the people who draw it and look at it must be bad people, but I think that's probably also what some people must think of some of the shit I fap to.

I'm also fairly certain no image generator is capable of producing CP without having been trained on it, so AI images are ultimately the result of actual child abuse. The machines can't just guess what things look like the way we can. Look into the "full wine glass" story for a demonstration of what I mean.