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The Talking Dead | Deepfake Watch
Browser View | February 16, 2023 | Subscribe
As the boundaries of generative AI are tested ahead of elections, dead politicians are being resurrected, and cruel tyrants are turning into cuddly little cuties.
Meanwhile, Shashi Tharoor recently met his AI-self, and was amused at the fun interaction.
Despite the apprehensions, generative AI is not the biggest threat to elections this year, says an NYU Stern report.
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Dead Man Talking
Karunanidhi, a veteran of Tamil politics, was recently resurrected by his party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, to give an 8-minute-long speech.
He congratulated his friend and fellow politician TR Baalu for the launch of his autobiography, and praised his son MK Stalin for his leadership as the head of state.
Dead in 2018 at the age of 92, the poet-turned-politician was brought back to life by Muonium - a generative AI start-up founded by Senthil Nagayam.
According to an article by Al Jazeera, Nagayam accessed publicly available data on the late DMK leader to train an algorithm to recreate his likeness from the 1990’s, when the leader was at the peak of his political charisma.
The article also highlights DMK’s interest in using AI Karunanidhi for the upcoming elections.
The Cute President, And The Cruel Tyrant
72-year-old Prabowo Subianto just declared himself the winner of the Indonesian presidential election, by reinventing himself as a cute avatar with chubby cheeks.
A report by Reuters highlights how Prabowo’s “chubby-cheeked AI avatar makes Korean-style finger hearts and cradles his beloved cat, Bobby, to the delight of Gen Z voters”.
A 19-year-old shopkeeper in East Jakarta tells Reuters that she plans to vote for him because he is ‘cuddly’.
However, over 25 years ago, Prabowo was the son-in-law of Indonesia’s longest-serving dictator Suharto, and a much-feared Major-General who has been linked to the torture and disappearances of activists.
According to Reuters, Prabowo used generative AI tools provided by Midjourney to reinvented himself as ‘General Gemoy’ (‘gemoy’ being an Indonesian slang for someone or something so cute, you’d wanna hug them).
Reuters also spoke to political consultant Yose Rizal who claims to have created a tool using OpenAI’s GPT-4 and 3.5 to help candidates generate highly tailored content for campaigning in the country.
Rizal tells Reuters that he plans to go to India next, calling the Indonesian election a “warm up”.
What’s In Store For India?
Last month, OpenAI, the leading firm in the generative AI industry, shut down the use of its app for political campaigning. The company told Reuters they are investigating the use of its app for creating such political chatbots, but is yet to find evidence.
India, the next big election this year, is now expected to test the boundaries of generative AI, with massive potential for use and abuse, alike.
In a recent meeting with lawyers, journalists and researchers in India, OpenAI representatives reinstated their commitment to fighting the abuse of generative AI in the context of the upcoming elections, and sought advice, support and collaborative efforts from those present.
When Shashi Met Shashi
At the recently held Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor was interviewed in a video by an AI-generated version of himself.
They discussed hobbies, interests, and the pros and cons of digital media. The real Tharoor (we hope) called the interaction “Just amazing” on an X post.
There Is A Bigger Threat Than Gen AI
Generative AI, since it exploded in popularity, has been the cause of both excitement and apprehension. Due to some of its recent cases of misuse, it has come off as the big bad wolf threatening to tear democracy to shreds.
However, a report by NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights highlighted that there is a bigger and badder wolf out there. Social media companies!
Big tech platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok have been pulled up time and again for promoting divisive content that skews public opinion by spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories, and have led to real scenarios of violence, ethnic cleansing and erosion of trust in elections.
The report highlights how big tech companies have backslid in their commitment to ensuring safety on their platforms, by laying-off key jobs responsible for overseeing regulations put in place to curb its abuse.
Basically, we are back to square one, and it's open season for all bad actors looking to cash in on the upcoming elections.
🔍 AI-Spotting
Machine learning company Hugging Face provides tools that help detect the use of generative AI behind a particular artwork or image.
One such tool is the ‘AI Image Detector’, which allows you to drag and drop images for a quick check.
About Decode and Deepfake Watch
Deepfake Watch is an initiative by Decode, dedicated to keeping you abreast of the latest developments in AI and its potential for misuse. Our goal is to foster an informed community capable of challenging digital deceptions and advocating for a transparent digital environment.
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