Deepfake Dilemma Decoded: Will Your Next Confession Be with a Bot?
By Olivia "The Dreamer" Thompson - Junior Reporter
Date: 23 Apr 2023
The Hacker Herald investigates the unnerving era of deepfakes—a burgeoning tech nightmare, questioning if the future of heart-to-heart talks lies in the circuitry of cold, emotionless machines.In an eye-opening scare-fest, a recent study takes a deep dive into the shockwaves deepfake videos are sending across public trust. As if the Russo-Ukrainian War weren't tense enough, the research spun a web around Twitter's chitter-chatter, unearthing public fears that your next "pinky promise" could be to a crafty bot imitating your grandma. Starting with a haystack of 4,869 tweets, the researchers played digital Sherlock Holmes from January to August 2022, whittling down to 1,392 tweets that weren't just echoes in the Twitterverse or the babel of non-European tongues.
The dominant cry was in English, but don't discount the German and French whispers—apparently, Everyone's got something to say about these tech Frankensteins. The study shone a light on three big shouters: the panic over deepfakes peddling lies, the brewing skepticism as folks point fingers at what's real or not, and let's not forget the gaggle of tweets not exactly lying but not doing any favors to the truth either. When news tickers chimed in on deepfakes, Twitter turned into a hive of worrywarts, buzzing with more dread than a horror movie marathon.
But get this: it seems deepfake dread has a personal hit list, with some tweeps practically begging for a deepfake Putin to pop up in their feeds. Talk about being careful what you wish for, but this shows the twisted side of deepfake drama. While gears and code spin up illusions that could fool your own mother, the study sends a chilling reminder—the more we fall for these digital masquerades, the more real McCoy media gets thrown under the bus. Enter the "liar's dividend," where true clips get tossed out with the bathwater in a growing quagmire of distrust and digital deception.
And just when you thought it couldn't get weirder, along comes the elephant in the room—funny and "educational" deepfakes that, while not spreading disinformation per se, have the awkward potential to turn political chit-chat into a circus act. Imagine learning about tax laws from a grinning, deepfaked politician—it's like eating your veggies covered in candy. Laugh or learn, these cheeky mimics could be tipping the scales on who we trust, warping the lens on reality one pixel at a time. So buckle up, dear readers, because the Hacker Herald says it's high time for a crash course in deepfake detective work, and don't you dare believe everything—or everyone—you see.
Source: Do deepfake videos undermine our epistemic trust?
Discussion: Hacker News