Artificial intelligence product synthetic media and its most destructive type, deepfake, is now a more useful weapon for online political operations of the digital age. Moreover, deepfake cyber-attacks can be easily anonymised, making victims of dirty disinformation wars unsolved deep in history.
Everyone everywhere is as familiar with the Wild West as they are with Wild Capitalism. Some know these precarious lands from history books, but most have learned about them in Hollywood Westerns. Although there is a sheriff in town, everyone must provide their own security. Danger could come from any direction. A knock on your door could be violent felons wanting your horses, or savage Native Americans whose lands you are after. Also, psychopathic killers and perverts run rampant on those vast desolate mountains and hills. Neither homes nor trails are safe. You can lay down the law so long as you are tough enough to bring someone to their knees. That is why no-one walks around without a pistol …
We had barely become accustomed to the idea of a pandemic before an onslaught of new terms took over our lives on the online world and social media. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it was fighting not only the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic but also the infodemic: “Trust reliable news sources, not social media content,” it warned. The global outbreak, or the pandemic as it is called, shook us to the core. We have become familiar with the notion of an infodemic, meaning “disinformation of global information and news” on social media. COVID-19 is the first social-media-borne infodemic. No other fictitious/false wave of information or news has reached such a global scale before. The efforts of the WHO, in …
The world was getting ready to face 2020 with an onslaught of deepfake attacks; instead, it is at a loss in the face of the COVID-19 coronavirus onslaught. Most of us would probably prefer deepfake to COVID-19. Alas, the situation that has spiraled into a “pandemic” gave nobody a choice. Don’t lose sight of deepfake while battling the threat of coronavirus on our health and lives. Remember that deepfake loves murky times. Not only does it concoct chaos, but it also captivates people’s minds more easily in an environment of chaos, even when it is not of its own making. As is the case with world media, social media is also inundated with information and images and reflections from all …
“Deepfake may give you cancer!” With such a headline, you might not bother reading the rest of the article. You might reduce the message of the article to, “If a false perception about you gets out through a phony video, you will be wrecked to the point that even your immune system may collapse.” We already know that such a risk exists in the not-so-distant future for people who have obsessive enemies or competition, and enjoy some level of fame, wealth, and reputation. The emotional and physical toll that a deepfake takes on someone could eventually give them cancer. Although it may seem pointless to write an article about this to those who already know what deepfake may bring on …
Late as it may be, the Book of Deepfake has finally been written: The Reality Game by Samuel Woolley. The content of the book, as well as its name, is reminiscent of the Game of Thrones. The central theme is the same, even if they are products of two completely different categories. Both tell the story of how a person’s ego can drag their intelligence to do inconceivable things when it comes to humans and authority. What they use to do this is insignificant—be it a crown or a sword, or artificial intelligence or an algorithm. Humanity’s struggle for power and authority always includes lying, cheating, and intrigue, whether in a fictional dystopian world or in our era of technology. …