2 min readDeep fakes are eroding democracy and the search for truth

Deep fakes are here and they are eroding democracy, sowing confusion, and breeding apathy.

With AI technology becoming even more advanced by the day, knowing what is real and what is not is becoming even more difficult. In the article written by Jamie Bartlett for The Guardian, he talks about how deep fakes can erode democracy, sow confusion, and breed apathy. Bartlett says that the greatest strength of deep fakes in not technological:

…but our willingness to believe and click “share” for any old nonsense so long as it fits in with our pre-existing views about the world. You might assume that deep fakes mean everyone will believe everything they see, but the real risk to democracy is the opposite: no one will believe anything at all.

Why It Matters

A few months ago, when deep fake software was just beginning to emerge [see Baidu’s Deep Voice Can Mimic Any Human Voice and Deep Fakes Are Worse Than Fake News] , we have already seen its potential in sowing chaos to our societies. Now that these technologies are here, the problem is much bigger because it had desensitized individuals into accepting the fake and the unreal.

Take for example the number of people who are using photo filters like Snapchat, Face Swap, MSQRD, and Face Changer Video. Many of these software can completely change a person’s appearance, their voice, and even their sex. Many people share edited photos and videos using their social media accounts, not realizing that these are deep fake software which collects their personal data, and are using them for testing deep fake technology for purposes beyond photo editing and having fun.

This, perhaps is the highest point of materialism, when even the physical and material could be altered, and truth reversed. If everything is fakeable, how then do we know what is true?

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