Let’s talk about Deepfake & its consequences in the contemporary world
We are evolving but at the cost of what?
Technology has become a part of our lives to a point that we don’t remember (or don’t want to remember) our lives before technology. There have been several technological advancements that have encroached on us for the best. However, with great knowledge comes great responsibility and our world has come to a point where the line between responsible technology and new inventions has blurred to a point of returning.
The new invention that has stormed the internet is called Deepfake. This application allows users to manipulate existing videos or images by replacing them with someone else’s voice and facial features. While it does sound intriguing, why is there a dire need to curb this application?
Earlier this month, a female Twitch star came ahead and revealed that she has been a victim of deepfake pornography. Deepfake pornography is when one manipulates someone’s face on an existing pornographic video.
As reported in the New York Post, the star revealed how her face was manipulated into pornographic videos and how some people even bought the doctored clips. In a video addressing the issue, she said:
“I’m so exhausted and I think you guys need to know what pain looks like because this is it. This is what it looks like to feel violated. This is what it feels like to be taken advantage of, this is what it looks like to see yourself naked against your will being spread all over the internet. This is what it looks like.”
It’s unnerving to see a technology like this being used for the worse. But, then again, isn’t that what happens when we let technology get the best of us?
Moreover, the worst part about the aforementioned case is that an individual on Twitter spoke about how deepfake is technically fake and that one shouldn’t care if their doctored video is on the internet because it’s literally not real. The user said:
“I don’t get the big deal at all. Like, there could be terabytes of photoshopped porn of me, and I wouldn’t care… because I’m not actually experiencing those scenarios being depicted. It’s literally not real.”
Sadly, this attitude is generally why these applications work so well. It’s important to realise that technological advancements can be harmful as well- even though there are laws that protect people from this cyberbullying, how often is the culprit caught? Moreover, sometimes people make such manipulated videos for fun- to share on their WhatsApp groups and get a kick out of it.
Sure, the world is developing- but development at the cost of safety seems scary. Are we really going to jeopardise our safety just so we can be more technologically advanced? Isn’t this something to delve into?
While the length at which AI has gone continues to amaze me, I still can’t grasp the idea of creating a technology like deepfake that could do more harm than good. The aforementioned case is just the one that has been reported- there could be several cases that aren’t reported. But, do we need a case like this to understand the danger that deepfake is?
At the end of the day, we need to separate technology from safety and understand that safety needs to be a part of technological advancements and not something one hopes the advancement considers.
