Deepfake Technology: Useful or Dangerous?

We are living in a world of technological advancements. There are many new technologies being developed and applied in daily life, including Deepfake technology.

As technology becomes more sophisticated, experts are concerned that it could pose a serious threat. However, any technology has two sides, if we ignore the dark side, Deepfake is one of the extremely useful technologies and has the potential to develop in a positive direction in the future.

What is Deepfake technology?

Deepfake is a term created by combining “Deep Learning” and “Fake”, which is a technology that simulates human facial images and creates fake audio, image or even video products. Deepfake creators can manipulate media and replace it with the appearance of a real person.

In essence, Deepfake technology is built on the open source machine learning technology platform of Google technology company. Deepfake will scan a person's video and portrait, then merge it with a separate video using AI and replace facial details such as eyes, mouth, nose with real facial movements and voices. The more original images there are, the more data the AI ​​has to learn and create more realistic fake images or videos. Deepfake can assign one person's face to another in the video with amazing realism.

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How does deepfake work?

Deepfakes use two algorithms, a generator to create realistic data, and a discriminator to attempt to distinguish between data generated by the generator and real data. The generator builds a training dataset based on the desired output, creating the original fake digital content, while the discriminator analyzes how real or fake the original version of the content is.

This process is repeated, allowing the data generator to improve the actual content creation and the data discriminator to become more proficient at spotting errors for correction.

The combination of data generation and data discrimination algorithms creates a generative adversarial network, or GAN. GANs use deep learning to recognize patterns in real images and then use those patterns to generate fake images.

When creating a deepfake photo, the GAN system views photos of the target from a variety of angles to capture all the details and perspectives. When creating a deepfake video, the GAN views the video from multiple angles, analyzing behavior, movement, and speech patterns. This information is then run through the discriminator multiple times to refine the authenticity of the image or video to create a fake version that looks exactly like the real thing.

What are the benefits of Deepfake?

Deepfake technology allows creators to create realistic content for viewers in a more creative way. This technology not only allows creators to experiment with creating realistic movies, but can also be used to further enhance the quality of video games and other multimedia content.

The advanced technology behind Deepfake holds great promise in many fields, especially in creative industries such as filmmaking and advertising. Advertising campaigns or filmmaking can use Deepfake for voiceovers, difficult-to-shoot scenes, saving time and production budget. Deepfake is also considered a pure entertainment on the Internet, allowing users to easily swap their faces with famous people. This technology is also being developed for online shoppers to try on clothes in virtual fitting rooms.

Technology experts believe that, when used for positive purposes, Deepfake will be a powerful marketing tool, with the ability to automatically and accurately crop photos. This technology will really bring many benefits to the marketing industry such as:

Cost savings

In some cases, using human actors is not necessary. Deepfake can be a new solution when producers only need to buy a license to use the actor's image, create or reuse a promotional video, then insert appropriate images and dialogue to create a completely new advertising product. Producers can even save more costs if they use their own internal staff to make the video. In short, Deepfake will be extremely useful for marketers with limited budgets but still want to produce high-quality content for campaigns.

Easy multi-channel marketing

Because it doesn’t use real actors, brands can easily adjust/produce videos to suit the nature of each marketing channel. For example, the same face can be used by the brand to integrate it into different platforms such as videos posted on Youtube, TikTok, or Reels on Instagram… Not to mention, this process is not as expensive and time-consuming as hiring actors to film again.

“Super” personalized content

Deepfake will open a new era of personalized content/campaigns. With this technology, brands can easily tailor videos/images to match the experiences, interests, and characteristics of their target customers - such as their skin color. If the producer is targeting different customer groups such as disadvantaged groups, or people of different ethnicities that are not similar to the brand ambassador/model, then Deepfake will help them overcome this limitation. It will also not be too difficult to do with Deepfake if the brand needs a video in a completely different language.

It can be said that Deepfake technology can bring huge changes in the way movies and shows are filmed and presented to viewers.

What are the dangers of using Deepfake?

Despite the positive uses of Deepfake, the technology is more popular among cybercriminals and can also be used for malicious purposes. Deepfake allows cybercriminals to easily create deceptive content and spread misinformation that can seriously influence the minds of viewers.

In reality, it is not easy for users to detect a Deepfake image or video, so most online viewers may fall victim to misinformation spread using Deepfake technology.

If we look at some of the ways Deepfake can be used for bad reasons, it can include altering historical footage and creating fake news stories. Not only that, this technology can be used to defame business organizations or even influence public opinion on certain issues.

Deepfakes can be used for a variety of crimes, such as discrediting an individual. What if Deepfake software spreads online and someone creates a pornographic video of you and posts it on Facebook? Even if it is just a prank, once it is online, there is no way to control the spread of this video and the consequences that follow.

In many cases, the purpose of using Deepfakes is no longer a joke, but to discredit, humiliate, harass or play dirty and use them for the purpose of blackmailing others.

Pornography is just one of the many issues that Deepfakes pose. Initially appearing primarily in pornographic videos, Deepfakes are starting to spread into the political realm, with the potential to have a major impact in real life.

On April 17, 2018, a video appeared online showing a person resembling former US President Barack Obama using bad words to criticize current President Donald Trump. Although the public later discovered that the video was not true, the video went viral very quickly and caused unfortunate consequences.

Experts are concerned that Deepfake technology could impact a company’s business, destroy the reputation of an influential person, or cause political instability, especially during elections. It would be terrible if a Deepfake video suddenly appeared online depicting a presidential candidate molesting children, or a police chief inciting employees to commit acts of violence against ethnic minorities, or soldiers committing atrocities in war…

High-profile figures such as politicians and business leaders are at risk of being attacked with fake videos. Even ordinary women can be targeted by bad people using this technology to create fake pornographic and nude videos, which can negatively affect their honor and dignity. Once the videos have spread on the Internet, it is almost impossible to stop them. Moreover, it is very difficult to distinguish between the authenticity and falsity of these contents.

Clearly, Deepfake has become a worldwide problem, leaving many people in difficult situations after fake videos were spread on the internet.

In short, in addition to the benefits that Deepfake technology can bring in many fields such as media, entertainment, games, etc., this technology can also be used to commit fraud on the Internet and spread false information. Therefore, management agencies need to take appropriate measures to prevent the abuse of Deepfake technology./.

Reference

1.https://www.tech21century.com/deepfake-artificial-intelligence/

2.https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/deepfake