The real strength of deepfakes or alternate images is not that they falsify the truth – we have been able to that since the birth of photography but rather, thanks to social media, that they are completely dissociated from their original creators and thus their intent.
When the Soviet government released a documentary, we knew to be skeptical of its content as they were notoriously prone to propaganda or biased information. Today, when we see a photo or video, we do not know its origin and thus cannot asses the intention of its creator. Mostly, was it made to deceive or to thoughtfully report? Thus, one of the most potent tools against deep fakes is an indelible connection to its original creator so that we, as viewers, can be knowledgeable of his/her/its intentions. Indelibly linking a creator to its creation would bring accountability and, in the process, dramatically reduce damages done by deep fakes. Intent could quickly be derived from knowledge of the source. Responsibility would always be assigned. The current response to blame technology, and only technology, for evil actions, leads us to believe that the only reaction also lies in technology: Create an anti-Photoshop to detect photoshopped images, create deepfake recognition tools to expose fake videos. Granted, technology makes it easier to deceive, but at the core of the issue is the intent to deceive. And that is 100% a human characteristic. Moral responsibility is at stake here. No technology is evil until it is used with evil intent.
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