PM Modi calls AI-generated deepfakes problematic; How to detect deepfakes
On Friday, November 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the rampant problem of deepfakes in India. For those who don't know, deepfake is an artificial intelligence (AI) technology in which media, such as photos, videos and audio, are manipulated hyper-realistic to make them appear extremely real, even if they are fake. The latest cases were of two actresses, Rashmika Mandanna and Katrina Kaif, who were victims of the latest horrible attack. Prime Minister Modi addressed reporters at the Diwali program in Milan at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.
During the speech, he pointed out the misuse of AI to create "deepfakes" and said the media must educate people about this crisis. The issue of deepfakes has even caused some celebrities to go to court. Earlier this year, actor Anil Kapoor successfully fought a lawsuit against unauthorized deepfakes of himself.
Regarding the deepfakes, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, "Govt is committed to ensuring Safety and Trust of all DigitalNagriks using Internet." He called deepfakes the latest, extremely dangerous and harmful form of misinformation; he explained that they "need to be dealt with by platforms."
How to detect deepfakes
To detect deepfakes, you can look for visual and audio inconsistencies and other telltale signs. Some of them are listed below.
Look for facial expression abnormalities: Check for unnatural facial expressions, mismatched lip sync, or blinking irregularities.
Listen to the audio carefully for discrepancies: When you have questions about a video, look for differences in the audio.Listen for changes in tone or unnatural speech patterns. Check the surroundings of the video: Look for visual distortions, blurring, or inconsistent lighting. Check whether the person in the video can be in that environment.
Context and content are the most important: Analyze whether the behaviour or statements align with the individual's known characteristics.
Check the source of the video: Confirm the media's legitimacy from reliable sources. Is it a random YouTuber or social media account posting the video? If yes, look for other discrepancies.
The risk of being spoofed is low for most people due to the large amount of training data required to create such sophisticated manipulations. Without a vast collection of personal photographs and videos available online, it is difficult for AI models to produce flawless deepfakes, particularly when it comes to side facial views.