How Deep is Your Fake
Facebook is investing in anti-forgery measures. The MadHATTERS Editorial, 11 September 2019
MadHATTERs Weekly
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Used to be you could believe everything you see. A video of your neighbour dumping his dead cat into your waste bin would be inconclusive proof he was the one who did you dirty. Now, making out what’s real and what’s not has never been harder in an age where AI can have you starring in a blockbuster movie in less than eight seconds.
This problem.
Facebook is spending over USD10 million to develop tech that can effectively detect AI deepfakes to combat misinformation through media manipulation, it announced last week. The Deepfake Detection Challenge will see Facebook, Microsoft, and the Partnership on AI coalition work with academic researchers to come up with a comprehensive data set to test the new tech.
The Internet is so rife with disinformation — doctored media, fake news, counterfeit products, false recommendations — that detection can’t come fast enough, and the deepfake tech is evolving so rapidly. AI-powered audio was used to dupe a company executive into transferring large sums of money to cyber-criminals earlier this year, and with elections imminent in the UK and the US, the potential for deepfake to cause political mayhem is erbviously terrifying.
Many believe there is no tech solution to this issue. But when fake finally hits rock bottom (which may be when the fake Instagram followers who cost social media marketing advertisers a whopping £1 billion a year are outed) perhaps the impossible will become possible?
The truth is out there. Our friends at TodaQ are working on no-party authentication of digital assets (which could be videos), and they’re not the only ones. One supposes one’s personal predictions depend on one’s personal optimism. (As a result, mine is naturally sunny, bien sur).
MadHATTERs is a weekly newsletter covering technology, personal data, and the Internet. Its perspective championing decentralised personal data is led by the Hub of All Things. Learn more about the HAT, subscribe, or read more MadHATTERs online at www.hubofallthings.com
