Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is causing a new problem: deepfakes.
Deepfakes, according to the Department of Homeland Security, "utilize a form of artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) to create believable, realistic videos, pictures, audio, and text of events which never happened."
Some people are using this technology in evil ways, such as creating deepfake pornography without the consent of the individual. This recently happened to one of the biggest popstars in the world: Taylor Swift. The New York Post reported that someone had created fake nude photos of Taylor Swift that ended up circulating Twitter for around 17 hours before they were removed.
What You Should Know
A recent article by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) explains that there are three main categories of synthetic sexually explicit material (SSEM):
- The alteration of an image of an identifiable person utilizing so-called “deepfake” technology so that a person not in pornography appears to be in pornography
- The “nudifying” of a person so that they are “stripped” of their clothing via “nudify apps” or other technology
- AI-generated amalgamated pornography which utilizes mass collections of images of persons scraped from assorted websites and AI to create “new” pornography, typically depicting an unidentifiable, computer-generated “person.”
So how can you keep you and your loved ones safe?
The National Cybersecurity Alliance reported in a recent article that there are ten ways to lower your chance of being the victim of a deepfake:
- Be careful about what you share online
- Restrict who can see your social media accounts or online information
- Put a watermark on pictures or videos so that they are more traceable
- Learn about deepfakes and AI
- Use multi-factor authentication to double your security on all accounts
- Create long, strong, and unique passwords
- Keep your software up to date
- Be extremely cautious when receiving emails, direct messages, texts, phone calls, or other digital communications if the source is unknown
- Report deepfake content
- Consult with cybersecurity and data privacy legal experts if you are the victim of a deepfake