Deepfake technology and its social implications. Research paper

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Social Implications of Deepfake Technology
Deepfakes are manipulated digital representations such as videos which are produced using artificial intelligence to develop sounds and images that mimic real people and objects (Korshunov & Marcel, 2018). The technique of producing deep fakes incorporates deep learning, which is a subset of artificial intelligence (Korshunov & Marcel, 2018). This process refers to the organization of algorithms which are capable of independently learning and making intelligent decisions. However, this method is risky since it makes it difficult to differentiate real from fake videos or sound recordings. Deepfakes work by producing a persuasive replica by studying videos and images of a target individual from various angles and mimicking the person’s patterns of speech and behavior. Having produced the counterfeit, the system makes the voice and subject more real through a method referred to as generative adversarial networks (GANs) (Korshunov & Marcel, 2018). The GAN procedure is useful in analyzing the behavior and speech patterns to identify any flaws in the replica and address these flaws to produce a result that is similar to the actual person being mimicked (Korshunov & Marcel, 2018). Deepfakes have become a rising issue in society mainly because more people have gained access to computers and the internet, meaning that a greater population can produce deepfake videos and sound recordings.
The impact of deepfakes on society is a great concern mainly because over the past few years, anonymous users on social media sites have posted compromising videos of celebrities and politicians. Users of deepfake technology mainly target famous individuals and politicians. These despicable actors use the technology to spread misinformation and tarnish the reputation of prominent persons in the society. As such, this research draws on the issue of deepfake as a tool used to evade privacy, mask the truth and spread misinformation, and recommends strategies to combat the social problem.
Effect of Deepfakes on the Society
Despite the importance of technology in making work easier and improving lives, when placed in the wrong hands, technology can be used as a destructive tool and for fraudulent purposes. Deepfakes can be used to trigger ethnic violence, escalate situations, skew elections and change the opinions of the public. Although propaganda is common in politics, deepfakes introduce a different approach to misinformation which has much greater effect than the traditional methods of spreading fake news. The reason being, deepfakes are more complex due to their application of Artificial Intelligence. Also, deepfakes present democratization of access to technology. Meaning that every individual who has access to a computer and the internet is capable of producing fake news and sharing to millions of users online.      
The technology comes in three main forms. However, the face swap technique is most common among online users. The social impacts of using the technique are highly significant. Individuals graft words and expressions on to the face of prominent leaders, which can lead to political crisis and manipulation (Khalaf, 2018). Individuals could produce fake videos to spark a crisis and fabricate a security incident. Such unrest has been witnessed in countries such as Qatar whereby, hackers illegally took hold of an agency’s social media accounts and shared information and videos that were associated with the emir. This misinformation resulted in a diplomatic row with Qatar’s neighbors who used the statements to justify an economic boycott of the emirate state (Khalaf, 2018). Such examples prove that deepfakes can be used to drive political agendas.
Deepfakes have mainly been used to influence social decisions, especially with regards to elections. In 2018, Moldovia experienced an increase in misinformation spread through social media. The information was shared by a digital news media outlet, Stiri Pespuse, which posted a video of Andrei Nastase, the leader of the European Party Dignity and Truth Platform, proposing a fifty-year lease with the city of Chisinau to Abu Dhabi (DFRLab, 2018). The high number of viewership that the video received indicates that deepfakes are capable of reaching a huge number of users online. In Russian social networks, the fake video was viewed over 248,590 times, ahead of the elections in Chisinau, which means that its intent was to influence the decision of voters ahead of the elections (DFRLab, 2018). The popularity of the video also indicates how quick deepfakes can be spread over social media.
Another common use of the face-swapping technique is in pornographic videos. Armatures use deepfake simulation to swap the faces of porn actors with those of celebrities. Such practices have had a great effect not only on the victim’s reputation, but also on the entire female population. For years, pornography has been a contentious issue among feminist researchers. Anti-pornography scholars have argued that pornography is violent and oppressive against women in society. With the increased use of the internet and social media, the fight against pornography as a means of promoting social equality has proven more complex. Furthermore, the growing popularity of deepfakes has made the issue more complex with individuals generating fake videos termed as revenge porn to tarnish the reputation of women in society. Deepfake pornography, therefore, not only harms the people whose faces are in the videos but also the entire community.
Deepfakes have also eroded people’s trust in the media, politics, and society. With the growing number of fake videos, it has become more difficult for individuals in society to determine which video is fake or true. Deepfakes have increased people's skepticism towards public figures, journalists and politicians. As more deepfake applications continue to be developed, it is becoming easier for individuals to create fictional situations that are harder to distinguish from reality. As a result, the trend poses a threat to the media, legal, and political systems since it is harder to determine which information is real or fake. Deepfakes, therefore, undermine the entire social structure that relies heavily on truth and social realities, which means that the prevalence of deepfakes threatens the belief that individuals have on the social system which is reliant on politics and media.     
Recommendations
Education
Education is the simplest method of combating the social influence of deepfakes. Individuals are affected by fake videos and news because they cannot differentiate between real and fake. In an age where technology is highly relied upon, information spread across the internet has proven uncontrollable. This means that users should adapt by learning to pause and reflect on a piece of information before responding. This should also apply to users who share information with others without verifying whether the information is true. Often, individuals pass on information and videos without identifying their credibility. Educating individuals on the growing concern of deepfakes would limit their desire to openly share videos, hence reducing the spread of misinformation. Knowledge is, therefore, the most effective tool to ...