Fake videos pose considerable challenges
It’s time to prepare for a future where fabrications will look convincing, Jason Behrmann says.
Upon walking into the office, you are taken aback by the stone-cold face of disapproval from your employer. Asking what is wrong, you are shocked to learn that a salacious sex tape you star in has been making rounds on the internet and was emailed to your boss. Sure enough, the person in the video has an uncanny resemblance, but only you know that video is a high-quality fake by a malicious trickster. You now face the daunting task of clearing your name while your job, reputation and marriage hang in the balance.
This nightmare scenario may soon become a reality. Recent technological advances, namely in artificial intelligence, now make it possible to fabricate videos, images and speeches. We can now train machine-learning algorithms with snippets of video, sound clips and photos to synthesize lifelike fakes of anyone saying or doing just about anything imaginable.
With our increasingly digital lives, much of the content needed to make these convincing fakes is readily available on social media. Also available online are the tools that make these digital phoneys possible. The technology still needs to work out a few bugs, but within a couple of years it will be tough to discern fabricated audio, video and images from the real deal.
The time is now to prepare for this future. Concerns about these technologies garnered much attention recently after fake pornographic videos of celebrities surfaced on the internet.
Though scandalous sex tapes are unsettling, muddying our abilities to tell fake from genuine digital content may rattle our society on more
It is more imperative than ever for us to venerate critical thinking.
notable fronts. Of particular concern is our judicial system. We consider video footage and photographs as being ideal evidence. Some day soon, these could instead become a source of confusion.
You can bet that questionable politicians or unsavoury citizens will benefit from our bewildered state. Whenever videos or sound clips bring to light dishonourable behaviour, the accused can simply brush off the accusations as being “fake news,” stuff any kid with a computer can make with little effort.
The rapid advancement of these technologies should provide a loud enough wake-up call. As a professional working in Montreal’s booming tech sector, I am increasingly unsettled by how so few Montrealers understand the basics of common technologies. Worse yet, most show zero interest in wanting to know more, even though technology has increasing influence on every aspect of our lives. Such disinterest could not have come at a worse time, when measures of critical thinking and public understanding of science and math hit new lows. This must change. Our civil society depends on it.
It is more imperative than ever for us to venerate critical thinking. We all need to do our part and be more reflective concerning what we see online and in the media. If a salacious image or scandalous video pops up in your news feed, take the time to double-check its validity, knowing that it could very well be fake. I encourage the public to reach out and ask us tech professionals questions about our work, the purpose it serves and how citizens can become better informed of the possible risks that arise from technological progress.
We often ask citizens to participate in the drafting of regulations for new technologies; indeed, we currently have an open call for public consultations for the Montreal Declaration for a Responsible Development of Artificial Intelligence. Come add your voice to the discussion.
History teaches us that humanity benefits immensely from technological innovation, but remember that in our democratic societies, we all have a role to play in ensuring technology is used for our betterment. Talk about technology is no longer a topic for a select few computer geeks and billionaire tech entrepreneurs. The discussion must include you.
Jason Behrmann is vice-president of Queer Tech MTL.