Deepfake Videos: Amazing or Terrifying?

Most of us believe that “seeing is believing” but the reality is bit change and that is “believing is seeing”.  It is the human’s nature that they want to see what they want to believe and ignore the rest. The new technology known as ‘Deepfake’ works in the same pattern. It shows what the video maker wants to show and want you to believe, hiding the reality. But the question that pops up in my mind is that is it good or dangerous? Well, personally I think that this technology can become harmful in the future.

For readers information, the deepfakes are fake videos and audio recordings which look and sound real but they are fake in reality. Basically, it is an AI-based technology used to produce or change the content of the video so that it shows something which didn’t occur in reality.

Deepfake Videos: Amazing or Terrifying?

Anyone can download deepfake software to create fake videos in order to convince the mass on their own point of view. This technology, based on generative adversarial networks (GANs), was invented in 2014 by Ian Goodfellow, a Ph.D. student who is now working at Apple.

With this technology, we can superimpose the face of one person on another. The technology can be misused to a great extent. What will happen if a deepfake video portrays that high authorities of your state are having conversation on a very serious and sensitive issue. You further share that video with your friends and in this way you spread the video, but the reality behind the scene is not that what you are spreading. What will be the effect?

We came across the video created by research organization future advocacy, which is the perfect example of deepfake video. The purpose of the video is that how this technology can affect the democracy. In the video you can see how they made the video.

Isn’t so tricky?

At the same point, it can also ruin the life of so many people. The technology is supporting the manipulated videos. It can bring disaster to the life of any innocent person as well. It illustrates how easy and dangerous it is to manipulate content of the video.

It becomes so easy to create a deepfake of an emergency alert warning an attack of the enemy country is about to happen. It can also destroy someone’s marriage with a fake porn tape. Furthermore, it can also bring disruption to a close election by creating a fake video or audio recording of one of the candidates before the voting begins.

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