Deepfakes are becoming increasingly common, and if you have never heard of them, it’s probably for a good reason. The emergence of innovative technology has disrupted the online industry. Alongside the positive side of things, there are also plenty of reasons to be cautious of what we put online. One of these is deepfakes.
What are deepfakes?
Deepfakes are audio and video manipulations that are created using algorithms backed by Artificial Intelligence. Initially, they were used in movies to create dramatic scenes or involve an actor who had passed away, but with the mainstream availability of technology, they began to be used as something far more horrific.
What makes them so dangerous?
The sheer realness of deepfakes! It is perhaps the most dangerous element of this technology, where people are unable to differentiate. When deepfakes began to emerge in the late 2010s, they were distinguishable and had plenty of faults if one looked closely enough. Eventually, they became quite realistic and fraudsters started using them to blackmail individuals.
Remember when we were all bewildered by Donald Trump’s views and could not believe some of the things he said in 2023? Well, it turned out it wasn’t actually him. Millions of people fell for the trap and political propaganda began.
Personal Attacks
Women have been largely victimised, with instances of revenge porn and fake explicit videos being circulated online. High-level cybercriminals are able to generate ultra-realistic videos of such sort, and they get paid heavily too. The world of cybercrime has seen a massive increase in the emergence of deepfakes. In 2019, deep trace labs reported 15,000 deepfake videos on the internet, among which 96% were of pornographic content of women.
Real-world cases
1- In 2022, a 17-year-old Egyptian girl committed suicide because of ‘naked’ photos that were circulated online.
2- In 2023, a woman’s mirror selfie was turned into a horrifying AI-generated nude photo.
3- In 2019, the CEO of a British Energy company transferred €220,000 to a scammer after he thought it was one of his employees in Germany who wanted to make a supplier payment.
What’s next?
The future of deepfakes is deepfake video calls where live users will be unable to distinguish who is behind the camera. With pictures, it gets easier for one to detect any unusual visuals. With deepfake videos, it becomes more complex.
This was a basic definition of deepfake technology and a slight sneak peek into how dangerous they are. For a detailed version, we will be sharing a detailed guide on how to detect deepfakes and what are the signs you should look for.
If you’re looking for extensive reading related to this, check the following link: How to Prevent Deepfakes in the Age of Generative AI
