The rise of deepfake technology

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From harmless jokes to chaos, the transformation of deepfakes is turning into a national security threat. Deepfakes are highly sophisticated manipulations that blend fake faces, voices, and actions in order to spread misinformation. The misuse of deepfakes raises concerns, increasing political misinformation and defamation. On a macro scale, deepfakes present cybersecurity risks that can spark wars between nations. They also disrupt the flow of free, objective information since the rate at which misinformation is spreading is not proportional to the rate at which it’s detected. Overall, as time progresses we will be able to develop more sophisticated tools to detect false information more efficiently. However, it will be too late: the damage of deepfakes has already set in. 

Deepfakes first surfaced around late 2017 to early 2018. From that point on, the growth of deepfake technology has increased due to breakthroughs in algorithms and artificial intelligence. This allows fake media to be indistinguishable from the real thing. In law, this not only aids in the fabrication of false evidence but also undermines the authenticity of real evidence. In 2020, Byron James, a lawyer in the U.A.E, defended a man in a child custody case. Byron made the argument that an audio recording of the father threatening the child was falsified by the mother. When the recording was examined by experts, they found that it had indeed been manipulated to add extra words. The problem is that most people wouldn’t question such evidence that seems to be hard proof. Deepfakes also affect the entertainment industry because they open the door for fabricated content, which diminishes the authenticity and integrity of original performances. In particular, this will negatively impact singers by damaging their reputation through the spread of fake media that misrepresents them.

Deepfakes raise an even more serious issue: global peace. For example, just four weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian troops attempted to take over Kyiv. Information on the ground was questionable, and a video of Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordering his troops to surrender to Russian forces was posted. This, of course, was fabricated, but brought many risks. By blurring the line between fact and fiction, deepfakes undermine public trust and have the power to spark wars.

What’s terrifying is the acceleration at which deepfakes are evolving. The more breakthroughs, the harder it gets to identify deepfakes. The open-source nature of the AI behind them only promotes collaboration and experimentation among experts to further develop the technology. The only way to prevent deepfakes from causing more damage is for the government to control the source code. By obstructing access to deepfakes, their use will significantly decrease. An alternative is making any deepfake that spreads misinformation, defames people, or sparks controversy illegal. However, deepfakes will be troublesome to eliminate because the demand for illicit content only incentivises the distribution of them in the black market.