The Terrifying Truth About Deepfakes And Why Even The Average Woman Should Be Concerned
Imagine an ordinary day for you: You go to work, you run your errands, you work out, you do your housework. You’re not remotely interested in “sex work” or anything like that. But one day you get a text from your friend, asking, “Is this you?”, alongside a pornographic video featuring someone who looks just like you.
If this sounds extreme, it is, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening to real people. Just recently, there was a scandal among Twitch influencers, wherein one male streamer known as “Atrioc” was caught using a website that contained non-consensual deepfake pornography he’d bought that depicted popular female streamers, some of which were friends of his.
Now, What Exactly Is a Deepfake?
A portmanteau of “deep learning” and “fake,” it describes technology that is able to utilize a person’s likeness – their image, voice, mannerisms, movements – and project it artificially. In other words, tech that can copy you, and in some cases, pass it off really well.
You’ve very likely seen it before. It’s popular in current memes, particularly the ones that feature former presidents playing Minecraft, Wii Sports, or other video games. These videos only deepfake the voices, but the technology is far more expansive.
One actor, Miles Fisher, became famous on TikTok as “deepfake Tom Cruise.” Using deepfake technology, he’s been able to alter his appearance, which already resembles Tom Cruise, so that he looks exactly like the actor on video. Since he’s only slightly altering his face, Fisher’s videos don’t look fake at all. There’s no indication there’s any utilization of deepfake tech, like smoothness around where someone’s face has been interpolated over someone else's (see, Elon Musk as Miley Cyrus).
Does This Warrant Any Concern?
Some people may argue that celebrities relinquish their rights to privacy the moment they decide to become famous. Besides that, surely there’s some benefit to this. When iconic actors pass away, their likeness can still be used to continue beloved stories, or to act in roles that would be difficult for them in actuality. It’s not like Harrison Ford can be the same Indiana Jones that he was in the 1980s.
The issue is that there are no limits to who can be deepfaked. Of course, it’s easier to create deepfakes of celebrities, when their faces have been captured at numerous angles, in all sorts of lighting, depicting a range of emotions, and in some cases, at all stages of life. But as long as there’s a facial reference point, especially a live one like over video, deepfake technology can have disastrous consequences for ordinary people.
There are no limits to who can be deepfaked.
How many influencers who produce modest and wholesome content on YouTube or other platforms, go to the complete opposite direction and feature themselves in sexual contexts? Not many, right? However, their faces are featured prominently enough in their own content for bad actors to create deepfake porn videos of them. This channels the sexualization that some indecent men subject unwilling women to, and makes it real – or at least, real looking. Will ordinary women who have no remarkable online presence also be at risk of some new flavor of revenge porn when the technology improves?
Think of mom-vloggers who highlight their kids and make them the face of their content. According to data company Biometrica, “deepfake technology can easily be used by child sex predators to create CSAM images or video based on the likeness of a real child without anyone being any the wiser to it.” As long as there’s an image out there, anyone can use it. At this point, it’s easier to believe that the bad outweighs the good.
Beyond celebrities and ordinary people, there’s also potential for deepfakes to be used to manipulate the public. There was one a year ago of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy supposedly telling Ukrainian troops to surrender, and although to a familiar eye, it doesn’t look real, it could certainly be enough to drive an elderly person or someone who’s otherwise not as well-versed in technology to panic and act irrationally. What would happen if a video came out with the current president of the U.S. announcing a declaration of nuclear war on China? If it was convincing enough, what would become of the nation?
Closing Thoughts
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Or at least, they used to be. It’s gotten to the point where everything must be taken with a grain of salt: analog pictures, video, and especially digital ones. Unless you’ve seen something with your very own eyes, it’s best not to trust it completely. When we arrive at the era of bionic eyes and/or brain implants, then we’ll be able to debate the validity of your eyes.
Until then, what precautions can you take? Basically, be careful with your image, and if you have a young child, it’s important to protect theirs in the same way you would protect their personal information, like their birthday, what school they go to, and their daily routine. If you have a younger sibling, talk to them about the dangers of putting their face online. Finally, if you’re an adult, and can accept that you can’t control what others do with your image, then proceed on the internet with caution.
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