AI-generated deepfakes are getting a lot of attention, but with vigilance, we can be assured that we won't be taken in. Really?
Things are changing rapidly, and not for the good. With misinformation increasing exponentially, how can we tell real from fake? I've included some better-known examples below. Realize that in one of the videos, whole-body movements have been generated. I find it scary.
WonSook Lee, a University of Ottawa computer science professor, said that they are getting more and more difficult to spot. Even a couple of years ago she could immediately detect an AI-generated image or deepfake video of a person just by glancing at it and noticing differences in pixelation or composition. But some programs can now create near-perfect photos and videos. (CBC News, Feb 4, 2024), and they will just get better.
What does this have to do with you personally?
As the technology improves and developed, it will become more and more ubiquitous. The tools for producing superb deepfakes will get easier and easier to use while at the same time become easier and easier to find. Having searched out what is possible now, I believe that deepfakes will become personal very quickly. Personalized misinformation.
If we keep in mind the primary purpose of misinformation, falsehood, and trolling, we can see why it will become personal. "I don't know, nor do you, nor do any of us. The firehose of falsehood is not to persuade but to confuse: to induce uncertainty, disorientation, and attendant cynicism. (Jonathan Raush, The Constitution of Knowledge, page 165).
Suddenly deepfakes take on a whole new power.
As the technology matures, not only will it become easier to access but much more difficult to detect. Think of the confusion, uncertainty, and disorientation that will accompany the first porn (murder, robbery, etc.) video of your daughter, or son; granddaughter, or grandson? Can you trust that your neighbor (friend on Facebook etc.) didn’t do what you just saw with your own eyes? The purpose of the video won't be to persuade you that they are participating in these activities, but to disorient you, isolate you, and to erode trust. And it will work.
Misinformation on a personal level. It will hurt and sow upheaval, not just in people's personal lives, but throughout society.
The tools will appear and become easily accessible. It won't just be children, but maliciousness at all levels of society. We won't be able to trust anything we see any longer - an avowed goal of organized trolling. Destroy trust at every level and destroy the foundations of our civil society.
How easy is it now? Two facial photographs, a body shot, and 10 seconds of a voice recording.
Personalized misinformation - coming your way.
Imagine the disruption this will cause? Why will it be done? Why does a vandal destroy things? Why does an arsonist burn?
Much of the mayhem will come from anonymous sources. You will suspect, but ever know if it is someone you vehemently dislike. The online vandals will be breaking and destroying everything we believe in, and it will spill over into reality.
How will our civil society cope?
I know that as individuals you will be able to minimize the trauma by keeping things in perspective. As usual, I promote the development of your thinking skills. When this begins to happen, you will hear about it. Being able to control your emotions with well-developed thinking skills is one of the answers. Socelor can help prepare you for the inevitable. Check it out (Socelor.com) and see if it is an answer you can live with.