Deepfake — A dangerous internet phenomenon
A phenomenon once touted as a socio-political threat, with absolutely anyone being vested with the power to use an image, morph & manipulate it in desirable ways using Artificial technology.
Donald Trump and Barack Obama were constantly played around with. In fact, there was a deepfake video circulated a few years ago, which featured the former President of the U.S.A calling the then President, Donald Trump, ‘absolute dipshit’. Donald Trump’s face was morphed too, and used explicitly to mouth some of the most controversial statements. Not that otherwise he was any different, but that’s not the point.
‘Deepfake’ as a term came into existence in the year 2017. It germinated from Reddit, where a guy with a username ‘deep fake’ used to run amuck with images on social media, of course for *engagement purposes only*
The idea bloomed for there on, and clearly there was no looking back.
Deepfake has been taking over the internet like a storm. But what has been discerned out of this rather threatening phenomenon is its deployment in pornography.
Yes, you heard that right. Many celebrities such as Scarlett Johansson, Gal Gadot, Emma Watson, Tom Cruise, so on & so forth… have been victims of Deepfake. There literally are thousands of videos featuring the aforementioned and other celebrities too.
The storm that brewed in the west and is taking the hemisphere by utter shock, is now gradually peeping through the judas of the door that opens to the humongous digital market of India.
Tom Cruise has been a constant prey to this trickery. In fact, the guy bearing Tom’s face and body movements, is ruling the roost on a popular mobile application Tiktok.
Actor Miles Fisher morphed as Tom Cruise using deepfake technology. Via Tiktok user Chris Ume.
At the outset, this whole act came across as a child’s play, but the precision with which doctoring was done on the said subject was mind bending. Cut to 2020–21, we have similar cases on porn sites. ALL OF IT WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT.
The phenomenon surely hasn’t deeply sunk its vicious claws in the Indian market as yet, however, there are, unfortunately, some Indian film actresses and other celebrities who are slowly being targeted. Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, Disha Patani, Pooja Hegde, and many others, whose ‘deepfake’ videos are doing rounds on the internet.
It could very well be a disaster, as India could potentially be dealing with yet another intangible enemy. We have a celebrity culture here, and it’s no surprise how deeply ingrained that culture is. To put things into perspective, what if we one day find out a celebrity we adore, on a banned pornographic site. Yes, I know you have your ways of visiting them.
The shock waves it can send through your brains first, and surely as it transmits to your pants. Just like that, you’re addicted to this phenomenon without even understanding the deeper implications of it.
Now, that was our case, imagine what it could do to the person whose high quality images and videos are picked up frivolously from their own social media accounts and manipulated using AI, to produce satanic material on a skanky website. This is an infringement of the highest order. The psychological ramifications of having one’s images and videos being morphed or doctored is unimaginable.
Deepfake very evidently carves way for fantasy oriented sex. Fans of these superstars get an opportunity to see their favorite stars’ photos and videos morphed onto the bodies of real porn actors. Voila!! What more could you ask for? Your favorite star in a state you only fantasized to see them one day. The amount of offence involved in this racket is beyond telling.
What is even more problematic is the decapitation of those porn actors, who view this as a source of income, and who are completely dependent on the output of their said job.
Therefore, the deepfake phenomenon, as distant and as innocuous it seems for now, is an unmitigated disaster if it is not addressed at the formative stage.
Surely, the country is grappling with a lot many issues at the time, but in our efforts to dissuade those threats, we might completely lose sight of this technological marvel, for the lack of a better word, that might prove to be a lot more dangerous than we can imagine.
Beware.
