With today’s technology, it’s disturbingly easy to create explicit content of anyone. According to a report by Dwelling Safety Heroes, an independent evaluator of identity-theft protection services, it takes just one high-quality facial image and less than 25 minutes to generate a 60-second pornographic video at zero cost.
When the world discovered a new reality in January, graphic deepfake images of Taylor Swift went viral, with one photograph garnering 47 million views before being taken down. While others in the leisure industry, including prominent figures like Korean pop stars, have fallen victim to having their images stolen and exploited, individuals outside of the public spotlight are also not immune to this form of misuse. According to a 2023 report, a striking commonality is observed among nearly all victims, regardless of specific circumstances: a staggering 99% of them are female or young women.
The dire state of affairs has sparked a sense of urgency, particularly among young women who are increasingly frustrated. One startup founder bluntly asserts: “If security technology fails to keep pace with the accelerating rate of AI advancements, we’re in serious trouble.” Notwithstanding significant research on deepfake detection, these tools struggle to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated deepfake creation tools. To combat the proliferation of deepfake pornography, dedicated platforms are crucial in filtering out these fakes, often focusing specifically on detecting and removing such content.
As Lee, CEO of an Australian startup, remarks, “Our generation is grappling with its own nuclear moment.”
Lee’s company is pioneering a novel approach by developing generative AI. The potential applications are vast, as they can deploy this technology in various ways to suit their clients’ needs. Initially, Lee’s firm is offering visual-recognition tools to companies seeking to protect their brand identities, trademarks, and merchandise from inappropriate usage – think airline uniforms, for instance. Her ultimate goal is to develop a tool allowing any young woman to effortlessly scour the internet, detecting and identifying deepfakes featuring her own likeness.
“If cybersecurity technology fails to keep pace with the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, our vulnerabilities will continue to grow exponentially.”
A fellow entrepreneur was quietly fretting about something more personal. As a victim of deepfake pornography herself in 2020, she found more than 800 links leading to the fake video. She felt utterly humiliated, she recalls, with no apparent escape route in sight: The police told her they were powerless to intervene, leaving her to track down every website hosting the explicit footage and plead with them to remove it – a Sisyphean task that rarely yielded success. A more systematic approach was required, she realized. As she emphasizes, we must leverage artificial intelligence to counter its own pervasive presence in our lives.
Liu, an industry veteran, founded a startup inspired by a. The application being developed by her enables users to deploy facial recognition technology to detect and prevent the unauthorized use of their own images across major social media platforms, excluding adult content websites. Liu aims to integrate her app with prominent social media platforms, enabling swift removal of offensive content. “For individuals unable to engage with the content, simply sharing disturbing images can exacerbate anxiety, rather than alleviate it.”
Liu is currently in discussions with several pilot programs that aim to enhance the platform’s capabilities through automated content moderation, ultimately benefiting the platform. While exploring the potential implications of this technology, she suggests that it could potentially form part of an “online identity infrastructure” allowing individuals to verify and investigate concerns such as fake social media profiles or online dating profiles created using their image.
Can Rules Fight Deepfake Porn?
Erasing deepfakes from social media is a daunting task, but removing them from pornography websites is an exponentially more challenging endeavor. While proponents of addressing image-based sexual abuse urge the implementation of laws to increase the likelihood of holding perpetrators accountable, their opinions diverge regarding the most effective type of legislation to pursue.
Following a harrowing experience involving deepfakes, she founded a nonprofit organization. In 2023, as she campaigned for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates, the official Republican Party of Virginia committed a disturbing act of political retaliation: sending sexual imagery featuring her, including deepfakes created and disseminated without her consent. Following her departure from politics, she dedicated herself to maintaining a national reputation by tackling legislative costs in Virginia before expanding her efforts to address image-based sexual abuse across the country.
The complexity lies in the stark disparity between each state’s legal framework, resulting in a haphazard quilt of regulations across the country. Some scores are significantly out of line with the rest.
Her first win came when the Virginia governor signed an invoice in April that expanded forms of imagery. Despite its limitations, Gibson acknowledges that this effort is still a vital step forward in advocating for people’s rights.
While several federal initiatives aim to explicitly criminalize certain behaviors, Gibson expresses skepticism about their potential to become the law of the land. Excessive commotion prevails on the state stage, according to her.
Currently, 49 states, along with Washington D.C., have enacted laws prohibiting the non-consensual dissemination of intimate images, notes Gibson. The challenge lies in the fact that each state’s approach is distinct, resulting in a fragmented landscape of legal frameworks. While some victims of stalking endure more severe consequences than others, Gibson observes that the majority of legal frameworks demand robust evidence that the perpetrator intentionally sought to harass or intimidate the victim, a high hurdle to clear.
While diverse legal frameworks and proposed regulations create controversy, a significant rift exists regarding whether the dissemination of deepfake pornography should be regarded as a criminal or civil issue. There is ongoing debate over whether individuals harmed by deepfakes can seek compensation from those responsible – namely, creators and distributors of such content – as well as platforms that host these illicit materials.
Beyond the US lies a complex tapestry of insurance products. In the UK, a landmark bill was passed in 2023 criminalizing the distribution of deepfake pornography, with a proposed amendment last year potentially extending its reach. The European Union has recently enacted legislation aimed at combating violence and cyberviolence against girls, including the spread of deepfake pornography; however, member states have until 2027 to incorporate these measures into their national laws. In Australia, a 2021 legislative amendment criminalized the publication of intimate images without consent, but ongoing efforts aim to strengthen laws by making such offenses punishable by law, while also seeking to explicitly address the emerging issue of deepfakes. South Korea has enacted legislation directly addressing deepfakes, distinct from many other countries in that it does not mandate proof of malicious intent. Despite China’s comprehensive legislative framework, there is currently no evidence that the federal government has effectively utilized these laws to combat the spread of deepfake pornography.
As girls await advancements in facial recognition technology, innovative companies such as Alecto AI and That’sMyFace can bridge the gap. Despite the prevailing circumstances, one cannot help but think of the rape whistles carried by some urban women in their handbags as a means to call for help in case of an attack in a deserted alleyway at night? While technology can provide some benefits, wouldn’t it be more effective for society to focus on preventing sexual predation by addressing its root causes rather than just relying on devices to mitigate the issue?
From Your Website Articles
Associated Articles Across the Net
