What is a deepfake?

A deepfake is a piece of digitally altered audio or video of a person to make them say and do something that never physically happened. Think of it like Photoshop on steroids. Neural networks and artificial intelligence enable anyone with a smartphone to generate synthetic media.

 

 

This is a clip of former President Richard Nixon addressing the nation about the Apollo 11 moon landing accident that never happened. In this very realistic video, the president of the United States is re-writing history.  It looks and sounds like Richard Nixon, but it’s all fake. The Apollo 11 astronauts landed safely on the moon. And Richard Nixon never read this speech.

Deepfakes are like Snapchat filters. The kind that can swap faces with someone else. It’s all done by artificial intelligence. But the difference here is that, unlike a Snapchat filter, you’re not in control. Instead, someone else is taking your image and voice and manipulating it to make you say something you would have never said.

Are Deepfakes legal?

Deepfakes are not currently subject to copyright. Today, victims don’t own the rights to their own image. These are all legal questions that are presently being debated.

Losing control of one’s image is concerning. Several celebrities have had their faces superimposed on porn videos. And bullies could potentially weaponize this technology against their victims.

Today’s episode will talk about deepfakes and how they could be torment kids at school.