Reasoning, learning, planning, and creativity are now possible with the click of a mouse, thanks to the power of artificial intelligence (AI). The speed and precision of this cutting-edge technology is impressive, but AI is already doing more than just impress. Some search results could portend disaster without a crisis management plan in place.

“Machine learning” is proliferating ethnic stereotypes, promoting workplace bias, and sharing racist or fake imagery with searchers. These unforeseen results could negatively impact an individual’s personal image and feelings of self-worth as this sophisticated technology continues to evolve.

HOW DOES AI WORK?

AI processes data that has been loaded into a computer with software that mimics human intelligence. AI “learns” by skimming information from the internet, and it processes this information by adjusting its functions and algorithms as needed. It can recognize behavior patterns and errors but does not have the critical thinking skills that are unique to humans.

With machine-like precision, AI generators spit out copy, create artwork, and produce images based on textual prompts. The results come with lightning speed, but users are noticing a dark side: AI is creating images that promote eating disorders, mimic racial stereotypes, and cast people of certain skin colors into certain jobs steeped in bias. Other content may be fake, even though the video or image looks like the real thing.

USING DEEPFAKES FOR ILLICIT PURPOSES

AI-generated media content that portrays something that never really happened or is misleading is referred to as deepfake. Deepfakes warp our perception of reality with fake sights and sounds that make it difficult to separate fact from fiction. And because technology is continually improving and deepfakes are getting better, it is getting harder and harder to recognize these illusory images.

WHAT IS A DEEPFAKE? 

“Deepfakes” use technology to replace the likeness of someone in video or audio with the likeness of someone else. The process is done with AI and commonly edits the face of someone else onto the body of someone in a video, making it appear as if someone said or did something they really had not done or said.

There is no one simple way to determine if something has been created by AI and this increasingly sophisticated technology can be used to create misleading or false videos, target celebrities, shame women, manipulate elections, and create false histories. Awareness of deepfakes and how they may be used is key to preventing them from being widely circulated.

USES FOR DEEPFAKES

Deepfakes can be used positively to help create training videos, assist law enforcement in recreating crime scenes, and help people protect themselves online from identity theft by allowing them to set up fake accounts with AI generated avatars.