PerspectiveDeepfakes 2.0: The New Era of “Truth Decay”

Deepfake technology has exploded in the last few years. Deepfakes use artificial intelligence (AI) “to generate, alter or manipulate digital content in a manner that is not easily perceptible by humans.” The goal is to create digital video and audio that appears “real.” Brig. Gen. R. Patrick Huston and Lt. Col. M. Eric Bahm write in Just Security that apicture used to be worth a thousand words – and a video worth a million – but deepfake technology means that “seeing” is no longer “believing.”  “From fake evidence to election interference, deepfakes threaten local and global stability,” they write.

They note that the first generation (Deepfakes 1.0) was largely used for entertainment purposes. Videos were modified or made from scratch in the pornography industry and to create spoofs of politicians and celebrities. “The next generation (Deepfakes 2.0) is far more convincing and readily available,” they write. Deepfakes 2.0 are thus poised to have profound impacts. According to some technologists and lawyers who specialize in this area, deepfakes pose “an extraordinary threat to the sound functioning of government, foundations of commerce and social fabric.”

Huston and Bahm write:

Truth is under attack. In this post-truth environment, one person’s truth is no longer another’s truth, and information can be weaponized to cause financial or even reputational harm. While the harmful use of (mis)information has been around for centuries, technology now allows this to happen at a speed and scale never before seen.  With the proliferation of technology, a teenager sitting at home can create and distribute a high-quality deepfake video on her smartphone in a single afternoon. According to Matthew Turek, a program manager for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), “We don’t know where this is going to end. We may be headed toward a zero trust environment.”

Criminals could use deepfakes to defraud victims, manipulate markets, and submit false evidence to courts. Authoritarian governments could use deepfakes to target public opinion and foreign adversaries could use them to erode trust in governments. The proliferation of Deepfake 2.0 technology allows this to be done easily, cheaply, and on a grand scale. RAND recently called this “truth decay.” In fact, the mere idea that this technology could be used to manipulate public opinion is already causing some to start questioning the validity of real events and un-doctored video.