DeepFake Technology and Its Effects: Dangers and the 2024 U.S. Elections

DeepFake Technology and Its Effects

DeepFake refers to the production of videos or images that are hard to distinguish from reality, containing fake images and speeches about a real person, using artificial intelligence. The development of this technology has made it a “weapon” that even middle school children can easily use, especially in recent years. Moreover, young people in the UK and the US have been arrested for creating fake “pornographic” images of their school friends for entertainment purposes. This situation indicates that DeepFake has become a potentially dangerous tool.

Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to stop the spread of such videos on the internet. Even if the creators are prosecuted, there is always a risk that this content will remain permanently on the internet. Therefore, Google is exploring ways to store these unethical videos in a manner that they will not appear in search results. When users request the removal of non-consensual obscene fake content related to them from search results, Google’s systems will have the ability to filter all obscene results in similar searches associated with these individuals and remove duplicate images.

Google’s product manager Emma Higham stated in a recent announcement, “These protections have already been proven effective in addressing other types of non-consensual images, and now we have developed these capabilities for fake obscene images as well. These measures will provide relief, especially for individuals who are concerned about similar content emerging about them in the future.”

2024 US Elections and DeepFake Videos

The upcoming US elections in 2024 could be a critical turning point for the outbreak of DeepFake videos. Last year, many famous individuals, including Taylor Swift, had “deepfake” pornographic videos created and published on social media platforms. Although society reacts against such videos, the permanent existence of this content on the internet transforms DeepFake videos into an almost perfect “throw mud, some will stick” weapon.

Moreover, these videos do not necessarily have to contain pornographic content. During election periods, it is possible to create fake and misleading videos about a politician for the purpose of prestige assassination. Before the US elections taking place in November, we are likely to encounter shocking DeepFake videos that are difficult to distinguish from reality. This situation could lead to significant chaos both in the political arena and at the societal level.