You are on page 1of 4

Although fake digital media is not new, deepfakes are a distinctly contemporary

phenomenon. Deepfakes are fake images produced by artificial intelligence (AI) machines


as opposed to fake images produced by actual humans using software like Photoshop. It is
becoming more challenging to protect oneself against identity theft as sophisticated video
intervention of this kind is used more frequently in pharming schemes.

The phrase "deepfake" is derived from the underlying artificial intelligence (AI) technology
known as "deep learning." To create fake media that looks realistic, deep learning algorithms
are used to swap faces in videos and digital content. These algorithms instruct themselves
how to tackle issues when given large amounts of data. Moreover, Deepfake is an artificial
word that combines the words "deep learning" and "fake." Deep learning, a technique for
teaching computers to reason innately like the human brain, is what the deep part of the
term deepfake refers to. Deepfake media's misleading nature is highlighted by the
definition's fake part. Deep learning is an AI technique that involves repeatedly performing a
task, occasionally with no human involvement, to figure out the best way to produce the
desired result. For deepfakes, the AI is fed hundreds of source images and videos to train it
to create an animated version of a person's face.

Deepfake videos are frequently employed for entertaining purposes, such as in memes,
social media filters, and face-swapping software. In addition, deepfakes can automatically
switch people's faces to produce synthetic video that is credible and realistic looking. While
this technology has some intriguing benign uses (such as in gaming and movies), it is
unquestionably a risky one that also has some troubling applications. Deepfakes were first
used to produce fake pornography, which was one of their first practical uses. Deepfakes,
however, can also be employed nefariously to disseminate misleading info, fabricate news
stories, or release vengeance videos. Making someone look like someone else by changing
their appearance is frequently done for amusement but can also be used for cybercrime or
result in identity theft. In fact, deepfake technology's seedier side is what first gained public
attention. The technology was first employed in 2017 by a Reddit user to digitally produce
non-consensual pornography using the faces of female celebrities. Reddit deepfakes of this
kind and other celebrity deepfakes have proliferated online despite the subreddit's 2018 ban.

That's just the start of the well-known deepfake examples. Deepfake technology can be
used for many different types of deception, including blackmail, fake news, and political
manipulation. Somebody with entry to deepfake technology could make anyone else appear
to be saying or acting in any way. Deepfake video production and weaponization are already
a threat. Additionally, there are growing worries that deep fakes will be used maliciously
more frequently in the future, jeopardising the safety of biometric data, including when using
facial recognition tools.
One reason that fuels the rise of the Deepfake footage is that many implementations
of Deepfake algorithms are open-source, easily accessible to anyone with basic
programming skills and a reliable Internet connection. The popular code repository created
by the anonymous /r/ is available on Github, free for all to use. This dramatically lowers the
barrier for non-experts to utilize the technology. However, the drawbacks of a system like
Deepfakes are clear. In addition, the disadvantages of deep fake outweigh its advantages.
This AI-based technology also has drawbacks that affect various segments of society rather
than benefits. Whereas a deep fake video appears to be authentic content, numerous
people were simply conned by careless individuals who use a deep fake video for bad
purposes. It is well known that most of the users of this AI technology used deep fakes for
malice purposes.

One of the main disadvantages of deepfakes is trust issue occurred among the
society. When fake videos go popular, people quickly believe them and continue to spread
them. The targeted individual feels humiliated by this. Deepfakes pose risks because they
can trick viewers into thinking something occurred that didn't. Many people begin to think
that the targeted celebrity is ruining their lives stressful before they even issue an official
statement, particularly when their fans criticize them on various media such as social media.
For instance, a deepfake has been used to portray a company's CEO as a villainous,
nefarious figure (like in this video of Mark Zuckerberg). If this video had been made today,
people might not be able to tell that it isn't real because it was made more than a year ago.

In addition, most of the time, deep fakes are mainly use for revenge. Since deep
fakes video can create an identical video, many people use this advantage to take revenge
with someone that they hate. For instance, many women nowadays have become victim of
sexually explicit video in which they have never participated. This incident has ruined their
career and honour as a woman. This incident also can contribute into an increasement of
suicide case because of the overload stress that they must gone through because of that
incident. Somehow, deep fakes video can be a perfect tool for lots of individuals to sabotage
the person they hate and will ruined someone’s life in every aspect especially in someone’s
honour. For example, a false pornography campaign affected Mort, a poet and broadcaster
from Sheffield, United Kingdom. The images' resemblance to photographs taken from her
personal social media accounts, along with a Facebook profile she had deactivated which
dated between 2017 and 2019, astonished her the most.

Furthermore, deep fake video has widened the opportunity for the scammers to scam
many people. To the dismay of the financial advisory institutions that are falling for this most
recent wave of scams, cybercriminals are learning how to "fake it until they make it."
Deepfake videos of politicians and celebrities being persuading depicted as doing and
making statements they haven't ever emerged, drawing attention to the practise of
fraudsters using various technologies to expertly mimic video, pictures, or voices of other
people. Contrary to earlier hoaxes, today's fraudsters use more sophisticated technologies,
such as artificial intelligence, to produce deepfakes that are so convincing and smooth that it
is now difficult for even the most experienced cybersecurity expert to detect the fraud.

In a nutshell, since the use of deep fake video technology becoming more prevalent,
the society should be extra careful in sharing photos and personal information in public
social. So, it cannot be misused by irresponsible individuals that makes deep fake video tend
to bring more disadvantages rather than its benefits.

You might also like