In this digital landscape where technical advancements and artificial intelligence are bringing more innovation for professionals, fraudsters are also evolving in terms of their new strategies. People are using AI tools in their daily lives. For instance, people ask about their diet plans from the tools, and this AI-powered decision-making is considered authentic and secure. Also, deepfakes are manipulated images, videos, and audio that are altered using artificial intelligence to make them more realistic.
This technology aims to show something that has never actually happened. It can be done by swapping the faces or the bodies, and also by incorporating the voice of someone into someone else’s face and making them say what they never really said. This is done by using some of the advanced techniques like machine learning. GAN (General Adversarial Networks) is also used to create more realistic and advanced deepfakes. Deepfake detection online can prevent many fraudulent attempts before spreading.
Darkside of AI Deepfakes
It is true that this technology is also used by many artists and the media industry to enhance creativity and innovation. On the other hand, it is also used by fraudsters to cause harm. Deepfake threats can be severe because they can affect the reputation of an individual and can cause physical and psychological impacts. Here are some of the malicious uses of deepfakes:
● Misuse of Deepfake Technology
An increasing number of people misuse deepfake technology which generates serious legal and ethical problems. Deepfake technology remains particularly disturbing because it distributes fabricated content which employs famous individuals as its subjects. At first people failed to recognize the dangers embedded in this technology. Deepfake technology started to show its dangerous use when public figure videos surfaced on the internet causing a wave of false information that hurt reputations.
Deepfake technology was used by people to create destructive content through manipulations of images and videos for purposes of personal revenge. These incidents caused various consequences that spanned from emotional harm to public disgrace and legal actions. The improper employment of this technology has generated instances of extreme safety hazards for people in certain situations.
● Cyber Violence
This negative impact of deepfakes is a form of extortion. For example, it is the case in which the scammer creates a deepfake video of the target and doesn’t leak the content in public. Here the purpose of the scammer is to make the target think that the created video is real. It is sent to the target in person in order to ask for some personal information or a hefty amount of money. It is not only limited to nudity but such deepfake videos can also show someone committing a crime that they never actually committed.
● Fake News
The creation of fake content has become very common in today’s digital era. There are many instances where fake content can be seen to spread misinformation. For example, political deepfakes are very common nowadays. We have witnessed many TV shows that have used political figures for mocking. Moreover, there are scenarios in which deepfakes of political leaders are created and they appear to be saying something that they have never actually said. This is done mostly during elections when creating such fake videos can make more voters.
● Frauds
There are numerous fraudulent activities prevailing in the minds of the fraudsters. One of the most common is identity theft. There are several cases in which scammers create deepfake audio to gain personal information like financial details to get money or to hack bank accounts.
However, many people consider such audio or calls as authentic and provide them with all the private information of their accounts resulting in financial loss. Not just audio but fake faces are also used to commit fraud. Social media platforms have plenty of pictures and those pictures can easily utilized for committing fraud. For instance, scammers can use the picture of the targeted person and put the voice of someone else, that appears to be uttering something that the targeted individual never really said in his life. This can be done to cause harm to the reputation of that person or to take revenge. Here, advanced deepfake detection software can be used to prevent inconsistencies in the videos or images.
Conclusion
Due to the increasing threats of AI deepfakes, people are concerned about their pictures being uploaded on social media platforms. Fraudsters find it easy to steal personal pictures and information from social media to commit fraud. AI is a powerful tool if used for meaningful purposes. Celebrities, Singers, and Politicians, no one is safe in this era of AI and to tackle this issue, deepfake detection solutions can be the only way.
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