Deepfakes Threaten 2024 US Election

While ChatGPT has enthralled some with its mind-bending potential, others are cautioning against its treacherous underbelly. Brace yourselves for the rise of “deepfakes” – deceptive videos and images so convincingly real, they blur the line between truth and deceit.

Prepare for an onslaught of this nefarious content during the 2024 US presidential election, threatening to undermine the very fabric of our democracy. Yes, even OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, openly acknowledges the perilous risks. “Many expect there to be a tsunami of disinformation in the 2024 elections as the close election provides incentives for a number of people and organizations to create fake videos, false audios, and incriminating texts with little regard for fairness or factual accuracy,” warns Darrell West, an expert at the renowned Brookings Institution’s Center for Technology Innovation. Opportunistic politicians from all sides could exploit this technology to tarnish their opponents’ reputations. Picture this: a last-minute bombshell surfacing right before the election, leaving no chance for timely debunking.

But that is not all. A counterfeit video of Hillary Clinton praising the Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, is making waves on the internet:

You know, people might be surprised to hear me say this, but I actually like Ron DeSantis a lot. Yeah, I know. I’d say he’s just the kind of guy this country needs, and I really mean that. If Ron DeSantis got installed as president, I’d be fine with that. I mean, the one thing I know about Ron is that when push comes to shove, Ron does what he’s told, and I can’t think of anything more important than that. Hail Hydra.

DeSantis aims to challenge the incumbent Democratic president, Joe Biden, for the presidency.

The count of video deepfakes has tripled in recent months compared to the previous year, reports DeepMedia, an analysis firm attempting to identify artificially generated online content. Audio forgeries have surged eightfold. Experts predict a staggering 500,000 audio and video fakes flooding social media in 2023. Thanks to the skyrocketing popularity of generative AI, the cost of producing such falsities has plummeted from a whopping $10,000 to just a handful of dollars in a mere year.

We have seen fake photos and films before, but until now, the process was laborious and required specialized skills. Enter Midjourney and its ilk, empowering even the most amateur individuals to churn out convincing counterfeits in record time and on a shoestring budget. Alarming, is it not? Equally troubling is the lack of robust legal guidelines to combat these disinformation campaigns, warns Aza Raskin, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology. This nonprofit organization is dedicated to exploring technology’s impact on society.

Some companies claim to engage in voluntary self-regulation. OpenAI’s photo AI Dall-E refuses to generate images of President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump. However, the software has no qualms about incorporating the faces of numerous other high-profile US politicians into its deceptive creations. It is a race against time as policymakers struggle to keep pace with the relentless march of AI. Unsurprisingly, the censorship-loving European Union leads the charge, poised to adopt its AI Act this year, attempting to rein in this technological juggernaut.

As the Group of Seven leading industrial nations convenes to discuss common rules, top AI experts issued an urgent plea. A statement published by the Centre of AI Safety reads: “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.” Among the signatories are the titans of AI, including OpenAI, DeepMind, and Anthropic, along with influential figures from corporate giants like Microsoft and Google. Notably, this distinguished group, which includes decorated AI researchers, recently penned an open letter demanding a moratorium on AI development.

The stakes have never been higher. With the 2024 US election on the horizon, the relentless onslaught of deepfakes threatens to upend the democratic process. Who can forget the Republican Party’s eye-catching AI campaign spot? It painted a chilling picture of an apocalyptic future if President Biden were reelected – streets lined with boarded-up houses, armed forces patrolling the chaos, and towering skyscrapers engulfed in flames. The party, unsurprisingly, remained tight-lipped about their use of AI in the campaign. Meanwhile, the Democrats declined to comment on the matter altogether.

Creating fake photos and films used to be a skilled craft, reserved for the select few with expertise. But not anymore. Now, platforms like Midjourney empower even the most tech-challenged individuals to unleash a wave of convincing fabrications on a shoestring budget. While these technologies run amok, our society lacks the necessary safeguards.

As the 2024 US election looms, the battle against AI chaos intensifies. Will we succumb to the manipulation of deepfakes, or will we rise to the challenge and safeguard our democratic values? The choice is ours to make, and time is running out.