Is #DeepFake Dangerous?

You may or may not have already heard of the AI technology known only as ‘deepfake.’ The premise is simple, to create a really realistic fake video of someone influential, be it a celebrity or famous world leader, and then have them communicate a particular message to the audience – That message could be anything, and the influence of the speaker is sure to hold some weight with the viewer. Imagine getting any celebrity or politician to say what you wanted? Is it dangerous? Well it’s very convincing and most often the damage of a fake message is only felt after the fact. So yes, in a sense, and without warning these deepfakes have the potential to affect the real-world.

Coined in 2017, technically ‘deepfake’ is defined as human image synthesis based on artificial intelligence. The AI combines and superimposes existing images and videos onto source images or videos using a machine learning technique known as generative adversarial network.

Currently, the videos are pretty obvious fakes to the more inclined person paying special attention to the voice and character of the speaker but to the average Joe these videos can be really convincing. Also, the technology is getting much better so in a few years real videos and fakes might become indistinguishable. Also, imagine someone made a deepfake video of you, it would be virtually impossible to debunk. Hopefully, that won’t ever be the case.

Search the hashtag #deepfake on social media, watch a video and let us know what you think on Instagram @fhmagram