Date:
November 08, 2023
The wonders of AI are quickly turning into a dangerous power, that too in the hands of anonymous individuals, like the recent viral video of Rashmika Mandana.
If you are active on popular social media platforms like Instagram, X, or Reddit, you might have come across a viral video of Rashmika Mandana. The video, in which it is quite believable that the person is the actress herself, is actually a Deepfake video. Before the world realized this, and the ones who found something skeptical about the video got clarity, the video had already captured millions of views worldwide.
The actress has shared her deeply hurt feelings on social media and urged the citizens to take required action to bring the video down. Famous actor Amitabh Bachchan also shared his anger on the issue and stated that this is strong evidence to take legal action against the creator of this deepfake video and also the technology’s unprecedented access to people.
The power of Artificial Intelligence is still in the early stages of exploration. But, access to most AI tools, like Deepfake AI, is not only easy but legal to use for the general public. The extent of AI’s capabilities is still vastly unknown and often underestimated. That is why such unsolicited videos can be given birth to quite easily by almost anyone today.
Deepfake Is Not A New AI
The deepfake technique has been available for ages now. It was first discovered in 2017 when people mastered the art of photo editing to the level that they could actually swap the faces of people unnoticed. Deepfake has surprisingly been one of the most sought-after genres by the adult world for ages. With the growth of applications like Photoshop, making such realistic edits became easier, giving rise to a new genre of adult photography.
People swapped photos of naked models with the faces of famous actresses to make quick money. The world responded with both retaliation and interest as well. Now, the AI’s power has made it as simple as giving an order, famously known as a prompt. The authorities should take cognizance of this issue, and the world should take this as a reference to understand the extent of dangers Deepfake AI can pose to their loved ones.
How To Save Yourself
The very first concrete step taken against this dangerous technology is banning it straight away from any type of use, which the state of California has done. AB-602 bans the use of human image synthesis for pornography or media without consent. AB-730 bans the manipulation of images of political candidates within 60 days of election. Apart from these laws, private tech companies are also working extensively on developing deepfake detection tools that will be available for free public use.
If you want to safeguard your identity from falling prey to deepfake videos, one of the toughest prevention methods is to remove your digital media footprint completely. If this is not possible for you, then try these things instead:
- Become aware and spread awareness about deepfake to your friends and family.
- Educate yourself about deepfake detection tools and anti fake software.
- Always verify the content that you see online, especially the one that seems skeptical.
- Keep your personal media and smartphones secure from ransomware.
- Never enter your account passwords on public server networks or wifi connections.
There are nearly 15,000 deepfake videos revolving around right now. While some are fun, most of them are in the lines of adult content. The technology might be a great asset for the ones who actually need it for good, but the potential of misuse is much greater for now.
