2023-08-03 08:49:10
What is deepfake?
Deepfake is a digital manipulation technique that uses artificial intelligence to alter media content such as images, videos or sounds, thus making it possible to deceive the viewer into believing that the content is authentic.
There are actually 3 types of deepfake:
- The face swap is the most common deepfake technique. It consists of taking someone’s face and superimposing it on another person’s body in an extremely realistic way.
- Integral synthesis, the most complex technique of deepfake, makes it possible to create a photo or video of a fictitious person using deep learning from artificial intelligence. Thanks to the analysis of thousands of photos during the learning phase, the artificial intelligence acquires knowledge of the characteristics of a human face, which later allows it to recreate a person’s face in a very realistic way. that does not exist.
- The last technique consists of using an original photo of a person and modifying certain features of their face or certain of their attributes. It is also possible to take the image of another person in a video.
These different techniques make it possible to create any type of multimedia content, thus making it possible to attribute behaviors or words to a person that they have never had or shared. Deepfakes are therefore particularly dangerous and can represent a formidable weapon in certain situations.
Deepfakes, real potential abuses
Last March, a photo of the pope dressed in a big white down jacket went around the internet. Internet users were amused to see the pope in an unusual outfit. The canvas took a while to realize that this was a completely artificial photo: it was an image generated entirely by the Midjourney AI.
A political weapon
If this anecdote on the deepfake can make you smile, this technology is rarely used in this way. In reality, the deepfake has become a real weapon of propaganda, political destabilization or the propagation of fake news.
Several examples illustrate these deviations. We can cite a video that has circulated on the internet showing the former President of the United States, Barack Obama, insulting his successor Donald Trump. Another deepfake has been created featuring Mark Zuckerberg, claiming his involvement in criminal organizations or plots for planetary domination. A last notable case of deepfake in this context was carried out by Russian hackers, having used this technology as a real weapon in the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine. They fabricated a deepfake where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky orders his troops to lay down their arms and surrender to the enemy. The deception, which could have been tragic for Ukraine, took several tens of minutes to be unmasked.
The deepfake for online harassment
In addition to its political use, the deepfake is also used for cyberbullying. Many web personalities, mostly women, have repeatedly denounced these practices aimed at damaging their image. One, known as Jujufitcats on social media, said she regularly receives doctored photos of herself with her face superimposed on naked bodies. These images were regularly sent to his family in an attempt to harm him and damage his image.
The use of deepfakes for cyberbullying has also crossed the doors of middle and high schools. Indeed, sites for creating deepfakes are easily accessible and abound on the internet. Thus, adolescents use these technologies to create degrading images of their peers in order to harass them.
The use of deepfake in child pornography
Unfortunately, deepfakes are very common in child pornography. Cybercriminals exploit the photos published by the parents of children, sometimes very young, on social networks to hijack them. Once the photos are selected from the networks, cybercriminals use deepfake technology to stage the children. 70% of child pornography images on the dark web are created with this technique.
In conclusion, deepfakes are particularly dangerous in several aspects. Their impact can be devastating politically, personally in the case of cyberbullying but also when used by criminal organizations. This technology must therefore be handled with caution and must be limited to recreational uses or preventive purposes.
Deepfakes also call for us to be more vigilant online, not to believe everything we see on the internet and to always take a step back from the content circulating on the web.
Sources :
TO SEE | Images of children on the internet: a shocking campaign for parents is born | VAT News
1691063782
#Digital #Economy #Blog #excesses #deepfake