Deepfake videos have recently been growing in popularity as the necessare technology and artificial intelligence mechanics have progressed to a point that we can no longer confidently identify or distinguish a deepfake from a real video. In one of my favorite examples, Bill Hader, a popular impressionist, does his impression of Al Pacino and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Look closely, and you'll see that while Bill Hader impersonates these other actors' voices and mannerisms his face also seamlessly transitions to look more like the person he is impersonating. The software used for the editing of this video, DeepFaceLab, is readily available on GitHub. The question to be asked, however, is how dangerous can this technology be when placed in the wrong hands?
The answer is, it can be very dangerous. With the potential of being weaponized, CNN reported on "The Pentagon's Race Against Deepfakes". Politically, the ability to efficiently and effectively produce convincing disinformation with an underlying purpose can undeniably be utilized as a social weapon. Finding a person who looks and sounds similar to a prominent social or political figure is not difficult; recording a video in which you imitate this figure in a negative light and run it through the software is even easier. Thus, social media apps like Facebook are forced to ban deepfakes prior to the 2020 US elections and heavily invest in software that would accurately distinguish between a real video and a deepfake.
 |
| Donald Trump's face pasted onto, actor, Alec Baldwin's body |
The intention behind creating deepfakes have (so far) never been done with malicious intent. But as the technology gets stronger and the artificial intelligence gets smarter, there will no doubt be those willing to make use of the deception with various motives. As Frankfurt suggests, tools like these, when given to those who are willing to lie and deceive, only contrive to interfere with, and impair our natural efforts to apprehend the real state of affairs. Although today this technology is only used by the public for fun as a Snapchat filter, as it evolves we must be weary of what's real and what isn't.
Hi Amen, great post! The topic you have chosen is very interesting and relevant as the issue of fake news in the political scene has been going on for years. The examples you have provided are quite frightening as they look very real and only digs the issue deeper. I think what would make your post much more informative is to briefly talk about the origin of DeepFakes. When was it created and on a high level, how does it work? I would also recommend moving your second image above the last paragraph as the formatting is a bit awkward. Otherwise, good job!
ReplyDelete