AI deep fakes: It could happen to you

And there it goes, the danger of artificial intelligence or AI staring us right in the face.

CNN Philippines’ Ruth Cabal has found herself in a Black Mirror-like episode of sorts. In case you’re not familiar, Black Mirror is Netflix’s eerie tech-dystopian version of the 80s’ Twilight Zone which will leave you sleepless because it is horrifying and creepy. In its latest season, Black Mirror tackles the concerns of the new world – from AI to crypto to data breaches.

You see Ruth, my fellow journalist, friend and MA Journalism classmate at the Ateneo, just got AI’d. I don’t even know if such a term exists but there’s really no other way to put it.

A manipulated video of her appeared on Facebook recently. In the clip, which has CNN Philippines’ on-screen graphic, she is supposedly reporting on a new financial platform where Filipinos can make money. An investment of P14,000 would earn P100,000 to P150,000, Ruth supposedly says in the video.

But let’s get this straight. In the video is Ruth, the real Ruth Cabal, my friend and colleague, in her trademark on-cam chic look. But the truth ends there. The voice and everything she was supposedly saying, however, are deep fake.

She found out about it because friends sent her the video and it shocked her to see her “clone,” as any of us would be. It’s disturbing to say the least.

Ruth shared with me her post on the issue.

“We are still studying what else to do because as of today, it hasn’t been taken down. The only thing we can do now is to report it to Facebook. Our existing cybercrime laws in the Philippines are not clear about their application to AI. What’s certain, as many of you have pointed out, is that there has to be some kind of regulation about the use of AI. We can’t deny that there are a lot of advantages but also like any other new technology, it is prone to abuse as long as there are no clear-cut rules for its use. This particular Facebook account also is from abroad, so there’s the issue as to how the laws or regulations can cross borders.”

Journalists as targets

Ruth laments the fact that it’s a scary and disturbing reality that journalists are facing today.

Now, journalists can be made to appear saying anything about this or that.

“Journalists are the target because we’re known to report news, the truth. People trust us and know we are credible. AI can undermine this,” Ruth said.

A veteran political reporter, Ruth warns us of what lies ahead, especially with the coming midterm elections and the bigger presidential and national elections in 2028.

“What are the implications of this for our democracy especially with elections coming up? Any journalist can be made to appear endorsing or maligning a potential candidate.”

These are important and valid points.

The Atlantic, in a December 2023 article, has also recently put the spotlight on what it calls the messy spectacle of AI ahead of the 2024 US elections.

Said Atlantic’s Ross Andersen: “A shady campaign operative could, for instance, quickly and easily conjure a convincing picture of a rival candidate sharing a laugh with Jeffrey Epstein. If that doesn’t do the trick, they could whip up images of poll workers stuffing ballot boxes on Election Night, perhaps from an angle that obscures their glitchy, six-fingered hands.”

“Imagine if during Barack Obama’s first run for the presidency, cloned audio of him criticizing white people in colorful language had emerged just days before the vote,” Andersen added, noting that there’s no telling for now how audio generators and other forms of AI will be misused.

This should be a cautionary tale for us, too, as Ruth warned.

Local regulators must realize the urgency of creating an environment that would punish bad actors in today’s AI-riddled world.

Scams

And while we’re at it, the Securities and Exchange Commission must also work double time – harder than it is already doing – in going after these scams.

It must be a step ahead of these unscrupulous perpetrators and must continue to warn the public against such scams even if these entities or individuals are from abroad.

Clearly, we are living in dangerous times, more dangerous than ever. Despite its advantages, AI no doubt has a dark side and it can rear its ugly head. The future of many industries is in peril.

What to do then? We must educate ourselves on the dizzying developments in the tech world. Ignorance will not protect us. We must also demand and practice stricter data privacy acts. We must demand accountability and regulations. We must also consistently educate ourselves, widen our horizons and elevate our skills.

But the most important thing we can do is to constantly strive to be better humans and sentient beings. Luckily for us, AI has not quite figured out yet how to be human, no matter how hard it tries. Its articles, stories and art do not have even an iota of a soul.

Ruth Cabal’s clone is an example of this. At the very least, the real Ruth wouldn’t be perpetrating something as inhumane as a scam.

AI wins the moment we lose our souls and the world can no longer distinguish the humans from the clones.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen (Iris Gonzales) on Facebook.