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And, we're back!
Beth and Kelly return after a much needed break for a new episode about the dark web of youtube; yes, they are talking deepfakes this week. So, what are deepfakes? Let's get into it. Deepfakes are AI generated video that pretty perfectly simulate the facial movements/features of any person and superimpose them into a video (usually porn, because the internet is 75% porn anyway). It is a BIG. DEAL. Deepfake (a portmanteau of "deep learning" and "fake") is a technique for human image synthesis based on artificial intelligence. It is used to combine and superimpose existing images and videos onto source images or videos using a machine learning technique called a "generative adversarial network" (GAN). The combination of the existing and source videos results in a video that can depict a person or persons saying things or performing actions that never occurred in reality. Such fake videos can be created to, for example, show a person performing sexual acts they never took part in, or can be used to alter the words or gestures a politician uses to make it look like that person said something they never did. Because of these capabilities, deepfakes have be used to create fake celebrity pornographic videos or revenge porn. Deepfakes can also be used to create fake news and malicious hoaxes. Where did Deepfakes come from?
Deepfakes started as an artificial intelligence research tool, but in 2017 a Reddit user who went by the moniker “Deepfakes” started posting altered pornographic videos with celebrity faces. He was building Generative adversarial networks (GANs) using Google’s free open source machine learning software, TensorFlow, to superimpose celebrities’ faces on the bodies of women in pornographic movies. It’s always porn that pushes tech that one step too far. From VHS to AI, porn is what will ultimately cause the fall of mankind. In The Origins of Deepfakes, Explained, VICE's Lee Adams discusses how reddit user u/deepfakes created the insanity around fake porn.
Celebrities like Daisy Ridley, Gal Gadot and Scarlett Johansson were among the first victims of this fake porn industry and a subreddit was born. Then came the app, so people who have no coding or computer or science background could make their fantasies come true. Basically an incel and malicious ex’s Disneyland. It doesn’t take long to go from porn to politics, as we saw with the Jordan Peele/Obama video from Buzzfeed (You Won’t Believe What Obama Says In This Video! ). Not only does this mean that people are susceptible to fake videos of politicians saying and doing things in videos that are not true (see also, the Belgian Socialist political party sp.a video of Trump), it also means that when a politician - or anyone really - gets caught on tape doing something that could get them in trouble they can claim the video is fake. Why are deepfakes dangerous?
Deepfakes can be used for all kind of malicious intent. Below, we've listed just a few:
Who's going to save us?!?
If the tech companies don't start to police themselves we may be out of luck. However, there is also a US government effort to find a way to stop the ‘rise of the machines’ (if you will). The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) held an AI fakery contest in 2018 to try to find new ways to combat this new wave of counterfeit videos. My google-fu confirmed this AI Colloquium is a regular event that will be held again this year in March. While it’s good to know the government is working on this issue, our main concern would be their work is far more concentrated on the top tier level of these counterfeits (think government agency use), while the real tomfoolery of this comes from bottom feeders who have malicious intent.
There is some hope from the tech sector, albeit very slight. Is an international ethical review board the next step for technology? How would this work? This cannot be governmental oversight, or we will see other countries using it against one another. This would have to be an agreement inside the industry itself, similar to the ones that govern the scientific community. It would have to involve ethical concerns in order to ensure the safety and privacy of all people of the world. We hope these issues are forefront in this conversation, because it is a very serious topic not being heavily discussed right now. Beth's Jam of the Week: Rolling in the Deep by AdeleKelly's Jam of the Week: Shrill by Lindy West
Coming of age in a culture that demands women be as small, quiet, and compliant as possible--like a porcelain dove that will also have sex with you--writer and humorist Lindy West quickly discovered that she was anything but.
From a painfully shy childhood in which she tried, unsuccessfully, to hide her big body and even bigger opinions; to her public war with stand-up comedians over rape jokes; to her struggle to convince herself, and then the world, that fat people have value; to her accidental activism and never-ending battle royale with Internet trolls, Lindy narrates her life with a blend of humor and pathos that manages to make a trip to the abortion clinic funny and wring tears out of a story about diarrhea. With inimitable good humor, vulnerability, and boundless charm, Lindy boldly shares how to survive in a world where not all stories are created equal and not all bodies are treated with equal respect, and how to weather hatred, loneliness, harassment, and loss--and walk away laughing. Shrill provocatively dissects what it means to become self-aware the hard way, to go from wanting to be silent and invisible to earning a living defending the silenced in all caps. (Shrill is also now a TV show available on Hulu, starring Aidy Bryant and filmed in Portland, Oregon)
Cited Sources:
The US military is funding an effort to catch deepfakes and other AI trickery Belgian Socialist political party sp.a video of Trump You Won’t Believe What Obama Says In This Video! The Origins of Deepfakes, Explained AI-Assisted Fake Porn Is Here and We’re All Fucked Machine intelligence makes human morals more important Fake videos of real people — and how to spot them You thought fake news was bad? Deep fakes are where truth goes to die Artificial Intelligence Colloquium AI-Assisted Fake Porn Is Here and We’re All Fucked Deep Fakes: A Looming Challenge for Privacy, Democracy, and National Security Machine intelligence makes human morals more important Fake videos of real people — and how to spot them Belgian Socialist political party sp.a video of Trump
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