MAXX Potential

What are the Biggest Concerns and Best Benefits about Deepfake Technology?

Understanding the Deepfake Landscape

By Tucker Mahan, MAXX Potential Director of Emerging Technology

Playlist

11 Videos

All content above is AI generated, aside from the blog excerpt. Some translations may be inaccurate but are provided for learning purposes of technology’s current capabilities.

Have you ever needed to be filmed and when you watched the video back you were cringing? I have. With deepfake technology, you could skip the filming and still bring your face and voice to the content that you’re creating – maybe without some of those awkward gestures and mannerisms.

A few years ago, deepfake was a possibility only available to the people who understood what was going on behind the scenes. Now deepfake technology programs make it far more user-friendly though it still requires some technical skill.

So what is deepfake? Deepfake technology uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create, edit, modify, and alter video and audio, allowing the image or sound to become more believable and real. This means that technology can now mimic real humans both in image and sound fairly accurately.

Like any other advancement, deepfake tech offers opportunity and concern. While the general population gets a kick out of impersonating famous celebrities, bad actors are tapping into super convincing phishing content, such as vishing (voice impersonation) or smishing (sms impersonation).

With every new capability of deepfake comes the need for smart protection for your company, yourself, and your tech.

Want to skip the read? Allow “Tucker” to narrate for you:

Biggest Concerns in Deepfake Technology

Do bad actors adopt technology like this faster than the general public? It’s possible because most tech advancements take a minute to digest, understand, and determine an action plan. 

If bad actors are learning deepfake technology alongside enterprises, it’s very possible that enterprises are still vulnerable to malicious attacks – not to mention social engineering since most people are unaware of this new technology for phishing.

Bad actors are most likely to target people who are unaware of deepfake technologies, meaning that companies, communities, and schools need to start educating people about the possibility of deepfake-based attacks.

When it comes to my biggest concerns for deepfake technology, I see three main categories: misinformation and manipulation; social engineering attacks; and identity theft and fraud.

Misinformation and Manipulation

We often rely on the phrase “seeing is believing;” however, deepfake technology is making it even more difficult to discern real content from fabricated content. I see it a lot on social media where someone will reshare an image, believing the product to be real, and a quick image search reveals that the product is fake. If you look closely, you may be able to spot the AI-generated bloopers in the photo, but it’s becoming harder and harder.

Deepfake technology can already generate celebrity lookalike videos, and now AI-created “virtual influencers” are on the rise. I have more questions than answers on what we’ll see next, but I expect a lot of repercussions in the form of changing copyright laws, lawsuits, and governance acts through these uncertain times.

Social Engineering

Social engineering is all about using what you know or can find out to be able to break confidentiality. Deepfake social engineering attacks elevate the risk because now bad actors can impersonate trusted contacts of their target using voice clone and face swap. 

For example, there was a season of time where companies were being targeted by bad actors who were impersonating the CEO to email or text employees, asking them to buy gift cards. The urgency of the text along with the authority of the company CEO likely worked on a lot of people. Deepfake will make these attacks even more sophisticated.

Identity Theft and Fraud

Tech experts warn that deepfake technology could be used by bad actors to bypass biometric authentication in scenarios where a face scan is used. This could give bad actors access to crucial information, secure areas, or devices.

Sumsub published its Identity Fraud Report in November 2023, and it found that deepfakes accounted for most of the AI-powered fraud attacks. In fact, AI-powered techniques were among the top five tools used in fraud online in 2023.

Potential Benefits of Deepfake Technology

It’s up to personal opinion whether or not the benefits of deepfake technology outweigh the security risks; however, opportunity is there for dope advancements. Companies will be able to upgrade their security systems to fight threats, red team detrimental issues, accommodate people with hearing loss, and receive better translations.

I’d break the benefits of deepfake technology into three different categories: Interpersonal, security, and media.

Interpersonal Possibilities

I was at a conference a couple of years ago where one of the speakers was hypothesizing on the potential use cases of deepfake technology, and he presented the idea of using your last saved voicemail of your grandfather with deepfake technology so that you could hear his voice again. That idea seemed super cool, and deepfake could help us remember our loved ones better.

Another company is exploring what deepfake can do for sms, iMessage, and WhatsApp where users could set their chosen language and then all incoming messages would be automatically translated.

Security Measures

Deepfake and generative AI technology can create powerful training grounds for security teams to red team specific situations in order to make security advancements. Companies will be able to better protect their data as attacks become more refined.

We already know that deepfakes have the potential to be used to circumvent biometric authentication security, so it’s important for companies to use this information to find more holes in the security systems.

Media Madness

Channel 1 News shocked people with the possibilities by promising a platform that would individualize news to you. They promise personalization powered by generative AI with its full launch in 2024, think TikTok meets Hacker News.

For content creators, the deepfake possibilities are super beneficial because they could create a deepfake version of themselves that could do their educational content, advertising, and so much more. Again, this sounds great to me, as I’d love to never be in front of a camera again.

Lip sync dubbing will improve so much from deepfake technology. It will be possible for movies in other languages to have actors who appear to be speaking the dubbed language rather than lips that move to the original filmed language.

Recognizing Deepfakes

Spotting deepfakes will become a necessary skill for most people, especially in scenarios where a bad actor could be seeking sensitive information. 

When it comes to social engineering, you can have the best security system in place, but if your company and team are not educated on recognizing deepfake phishing attempts, then your company is vulnerable. Train your people.

Some of the best ways to recognize deepfake impersonations are with attention to detail and critical thinking.

  • Where’s the emphasis on audio voices?
  • Is the pitch variation off from a normal cadence?
  • What’s the pause length between words and sentences?
  • Does the accent match the person you know?
  • Are there odd blinking patterns?
  • Do hand gestures line up with the content?
  • Are the mannerisms right for the person you know?

People’s voices fluctuate according to the situation. If you’re happy, that adjusts the tone, pitch, and emphasis of how someone speaks. Take a clip of someone who’s happy and use it in a deepfake tool where you’re trying to be threatening, the tone might not match the message. 

Humans also quickly pick up on accents from other areas, so a voice clone won’t always match the accent of a person without a large sampling of how they speak. While I’m not a linguist, accommodation within language is fascinating, as it suggests humans adjust their speech to mirror one another in order to inspire better collaboration. Voice cloning isn’t good enough to pick up this nuance.

One of the best ways to recognize deepfakes is to interact with deepfakes in video and audio often. With so much of our day-to-day being in the digital realm, it’s time to realize that all digital content could now be fake.

Conclusion

The possibilities of deepfake are great, and with that great power comes specific responsibility to be smart around deepfake security and use cases.

If you’re not excited about the possibilities of deepfake technology, look it up. I honestly believe that deepfake will bring some advanced attacks from bad actors to our companies, and it’s worth knowing about. Don’t get caught off guard. 

Do you think Deepfake is a Threat or an Opportunity? Tell us your thoughts!

MORE POSTS

What are the Biggest Concerns and Best Benefits about Deepfake Technology?

Understanding the Deepfake Landscape

By Tucker Mahan, MAXX Potential Director of Emerging Technology

Playlist

11 Videos

All content above is AI generated, aside from the blog excerpt. Some translations may be inaccurate but are provided for learning purposes of technology’s current capabilities.

Have you ever needed to be filmed and when you watched the video back you were cringing? I have. With deepfake technology, you could skip the filming and still bring your face and voice to the content that you’re creating – maybe without some of those awkward gestures and mannerisms.

A few years ago, deepfake was a possibility only available to the people who understood what was going on behind the scenes. Now deepfake technology programs make it far more user-friendly though it still requires some technical skill.

So what is deepfake? Deepfake technology uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create, edit, modify, and alter video and audio, allowing the image or sound to become more believable and real. This means that technology can now mimic real humans both in image and sound fairly accurately.

Like any other advancement, deepfake tech offers opportunity and concern. While the general population gets a kick out of impersonating famous celebrities, bad actors are tapping into super convincing phishing content, such as vishing (voice impersonation) or smishing (sms impersonation).

With every new capability of deepfake comes the need for smart protection for your company, yourself, and your tech.

Want to skip the read? Allow “Tucker” to narrate for you:

Biggest Concerns in Deepfake Technology

Do bad actors adopt technology like this faster than the general public? It’s possible because most tech advancements take a minute to digest, understand, and determine an action plan. 

If bad actors are learning deepfake technology alongside enterprises, it’s very possible that enterprises are still vulnerable to malicious attacks – not to mention social engineering since most people are unaware of this new technology for phishing.

Bad actors are most likely to target people who are unaware of deepfake technologies, meaning that companies, communities, and schools need to start educating people about the possibility of deepfake-based attacks.

When it comes to my biggest concerns for deepfake technology, I see three main categories: misinformation and manipulation; social engineering attacks; and identity theft and fraud.

Misinformation and Manipulation

We often rely on the phrase “seeing is believing;” however, deepfake technology is making it even more difficult to discern real content from fabricated content. I see it a lot on social media where someone will reshare an image, believing the product to be real, and a quick image search reveals that the product is fake. If you look closely, you may be able to spot the AI-generated bloopers in the photo, but it’s becoming harder and harder.

Deepfake technology can already generate celebrity lookalike videos, and now AI-created “virtual influencers” are on the rise. I have more questions than answers on what we’ll see next, but I expect a lot of repercussions in the form of changing copyright laws, lawsuits, and governance acts through these uncertain times.

Social Engineering

Social engineering is all about using what you know or can find out to be able to break confidentiality. Deepfake social engineering attacks elevate the risk because now bad actors can impersonate trusted contacts of their target using voice clone and face swap. 

For example, there was a season of time where companies were being targeted by bad actors who were impersonating the CEO to email or text employees, asking them to buy gift cards. The urgency of the text along with the authority of the company CEO likely worked on a lot of people. Deepfake will make these attacks even more sophisticated.

Identity Theft and Fraud

Tech experts warn that deepfake technology could be used by bad actors to bypass biometric authentication in scenarios where a face scan is used. This could give bad actors access to crucial information, secure areas, or devices.

Sumsub published its Identity Fraud Report in November 2023, and it found that deepfakes accounted for most of the AI-powered fraud attacks. In fact, AI-powered techniques were among the top five tools used in fraud online in 2023.

Potential Benefits of Deepfake Technology

It’s up to personal opinion whether or not the benefits of deepfake technology outweigh the security risks; however, opportunity is there for dope advancements. Companies will be able to upgrade their security systems to fight threats, red team detrimental issues, accommodate people with hearing loss, and receive better translations.

I’d break the benefits of deepfake technology into three different categories: Interpersonal, security, and media.

Interpersonal Possibilities

I was at a conference a couple of years ago where one of the speakers was hypothesizing on the potential use cases of deepfake technology, and he presented the idea of using your last saved voicemail of your grandfather with deepfake technology so that you could hear his voice again. That idea seemed super cool, and deepfake could help us remember our loved ones better.

Another company is exploring what deepfake can do for sms, iMessage, and WhatsApp where users could set their chosen language and then all incoming messages would be automatically translated.

Security Measures

Deepfake and generative AI technology can create powerful training grounds for security teams to red team specific situations in order to make security advancements. Companies will be able to better protect their data as attacks become more refined.

We already know that deepfakes have the potential to be used to circumvent biometric authentication security, so it’s important for companies to use this information to find more holes in the security systems.

Media Madness

Channel 1 News shocked people with the possibilities by promising a platform that would individualize news to you. They promise personalization powered by generative AI with its full launch in 2024, think TikTok meets Hacker News.

For content creators, the deepfake possibilities are super beneficial because they could create a deepfake version of themselves that could do their educational content, advertising, and so much more. Again, this sounds great to me, as I’d love to never be in front of a camera again.

Lip sync dubbing will improve so much from deepfake technology. It will be possible for movies in other languages to have actors who appear to be speaking the dubbed language rather than lips that move to the original filmed language.

Recognizing Deepfakes

Spotting deepfakes will become a necessary skill for most people, especially in scenarios where a bad actor could be seeking sensitive information. 

When it comes to social engineering, you can have the best security system in place, but if your company and team are not educated on recognizing deepfake phishing attempts, then your company is vulnerable. Train your people.

Some of the best ways to recognize deepfake impersonations are with attention to detail and critical thinking.

  • Where’s the emphasis on audio voices?
  • Is the pitch variation off from a normal cadence?
  • What’s the pause length between words and sentences?
  • Does the accent match the person you know?
  • Are there odd blinking patterns?
  • Do hand gestures line up with the content?
  • Are the mannerisms right for the person you know?

People’s voices fluctuate according to the situation. If you’re happy, that adjusts the tone, pitch, and emphasis of how someone speaks. Take a clip of someone who’s happy and use it in a deepfake tool where you’re trying to be threatening, the tone might not match the message. 

Humans also quickly pick up on accents from other areas, so a voice clone won’t always match the accent of a person without a large sampling of how they speak. While I’m not a linguist, accommodation within language is fascinating, as it suggests humans adjust their speech to mirror one another in order to inspire better collaboration. Voice cloning isn’t good enough to pick up this nuance.

One of the best ways to recognize deepfakes is to interact with deepfakes in video and audio often. With so much of our day-to-day being in the digital realm, it’s time to realize that all digital content could now be fake.

Conclusion

The possibilities of deepfake are great, and with that great power comes specific responsibility to be smart around deepfake security and use cases.

If you’re not excited about the possibilities of deepfake technology, look it up. I honestly believe that deepfake will bring some advanced attacks from bad actors to our companies, and it’s worth knowing about. Don’t get caught off guard. 

Do you think Deepfake is a Threat or an Opportunity? Tell us your thoughts!

Demystifying Spooky AI Technology Fears

How AI Technology Benefits Employees and Companies

By MAXX Potential

From science fiction to reality, Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology evokes many emotions in humans, whether it is fear or intrigue. AI technology has become a part of our daily lives from the in-home speakers that answer our questions to chatGPT and other LLMs that have revolutionized software’s generative capabilities. It’s exciting and terrifying.

Tech professionals guess at what these advancements will mean for humans, and some people experience so much fear about what AI could mean for our world. We wanted to talk about some of those spooky AI technology fears and do our best to demystify them.

Body Snatching: AI will replace human jobs

As language learning models, automation, and machine learning advances, it’s no surprise that workers fear for their jobs. Common questions circulate: Will machines replace humans? How can I protect my job? What can I do to work with AI now?

Some version of automation has been in use since the 1700s to handle repetitive tasks, and yet, the skill of automation now can be seen as scary. Automation and machines should replace workers who may face dangerous scenarios every day where a machine would be better equipped and safer to handle the work. 

“While I do believe that years later AI will take away some jobs I do believe that it will open many other types of job opportunities that could be more technical or something that we never would have thought of before.” Says James Stanley, MAXX Apprentice, in “From Hobby to Innovation: Exploring AI Passion Projects.”

The truth is that AI technology is inspiring workers to reimagine job roles.  AI allows humans to focus on higher-level responsibilities that use skills like critical thinking, creativity, and empathy. AI can enable workers to be more productive, take on more fulfilling responsibilities, and create entirely new types of jobs. With thoughtful implementation, AI can be harnessed to create positive economic and workforce impacts.

Poltergeist Prejudice: Perpetuated Bias, Ethical Concerns, and Irresponsibility

AI technology speeds up tasks like sorting through resumes for a job opening or tracking data. With that said, AI systems can inherit and amplify existing societal biases. This raises a number of concerns as more and more organizations turn to AI technologies for the automation capabilities. 

A National Institute of Standards and Technology report shared a study of 189 facial recognition algorithms and how most of them demonstrated bias. The researchers reported that the technology falsely identified Black and Asian faces 10 to 100 times more often than they did white faces. Women were also more often falsely identified.

Governments seek to determine best ways to regulate AI with New York City being the first to pass a law in 2021 with rules enforced this July. Thoughtful design and smart governance frameworks are required to ensure that AI doesn’t perpetuate societal problems. Companies and governments deploying AI must audit for biases, ensure transparency, evaluate use cases carefully, and institute human oversight measures.

In a “New Regulatory Approach to Facial Recognition,” Jason Schultz, a professor at the New York University School of Law, believes that facial recognition companies must consider new, consent-based approaches to their image gathering as right-of-publicity claims gain momentum. As technology advances so too must the guiding principles and frameworks to protect privacy, avoid bias, and disrupt irresponsibility.

AI Data Voodoo: Protecting User Data While Leveraging AI

Data breaches are scary, and bad actors are discovering new ways to use AI technologies to access user information, such as the AI-controlled botnet data breach with TaskRabbit in 2018 or the more recent and accidental Microsoft AI researchers data leak. Protecting private information alongside the use of AI is important.

Three possible solutions to protecting user data include federated learning, differential privacy, and encrypted data. Federated learning trains AI models with decentralized data stored on user devices while differential privacy anonymizes data by adding controlled noise. End-to-end encryption also helps keep information secure. 

Let’s not forget that AI and automation are powerful tools in cybersecurity, and they have demonstrated accelerated data breach identification and containment, saving companies as much as USD 1.8 million in data breach costs according to the Cost of a Data Breach 2023 global survey.

With deliberate effort, companies can find ways to benefit from AI while also earning user trust through robust privacy protections. Establishing oversight groups and following frameworks like the EU’s GDPR can guide policies that give users more control over their data. Being transparent, providing opt-out options, and restricting data usage are key principles.

Bewitching: AI Dependence vs. AI Assistance

Artificial Intelligence can be scary because some view it as a complete replacement of humans across the board; however, that skips the fact that humans have a unique ability to make decisions based on data as well as external factors. AI technologies can be a great tool, but they work best with a human manager. The goal of AI should be to augment, not replace, human intelligence.

One article observes that “the fear of AI often boils down to the fear of loss – loss of control, loss of privacy, and loss of human value.”

Some solutions for preventing overreliance include having humans remain “in the loop” for consequential decisions rather than fully automating them. Companies and governments deploying AI should also conduct impact assessments to anticipate risks. Additionally, requiring transparency and explanation from AI systems can build understanding and trust in their capabilities.

AI can be viewed as a powerful collaborative tool rather than a decision-making authority. While AI dependence is a valid concern, keeping humans ultimately in control can allow society to reap the benefits of AI assistance without surrendering our agency or discernment. The ideal future combines the strengths of human and artificial intelligence.

The key is shaping policies, education, incentives, and labor models to focus AI on enhancing humans rather than replacing them. With forethought, humans and AI can positively co-evolve. Truth is that AI is not even ready or able to completely replace humans.

 

Interested in learning about how AI can cut business costs and boost company productivity? Reach out to MAXXpotential.com about your interest in optimizing your back office capabilities.

MORE POSTS

Demystifying Spooky AI Technology Fears

How AI Technology Benefits Employees and Companies

By MAXX Potential

From science fiction to reality, Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology evokes many emotions in humans, whether it is fear or intrigue. AI technology has become a part of our daily lives from the in-home speakers that answer our questions to chatGPT and other LLMs that have revolutionized software’s generative capabilities. It’s exciting and terrifying.

Tech professionals guess at what these advancements will mean for humans, and some people experience so much fear about what AI could mean for our world. We wanted to talk about some of those spooky AI technology fears and do our best to demystify them.

Body Snatching: AI will replace human jobs

As language learning models, automation, and machine learning advances, it’s no surprise that workers fear for their jobs. Common questions circulate: Will machines replace humans? How can I protect my job? What can I do to work with AI now?

Some version of automation has been in use since the 1700s to handle repetitive tasks, and yet, the skill of automation now can be seen as scary. Automation and machines should replace workers who may face dangerous scenarios every day where a machine would be better equipped and safer to handle the work. 

“While I do believe that years later AI will take away some jobs I do believe that it will open many other types of job opportunities that could be more technical or something that we never would have thought of before.” Says James Stanley, MAXX Apprentice, in “From Hobby to Innovation: Exploring AI Passion Projects.”

The truth is that AI technology is inspiring workers to reimagine job roles.  AI allows humans to focus on higher-level responsibilities that use skills like critical thinking, creativity, and empathy. AI can enable workers to be more productive, take on more fulfilling responsibilities, and create entirely new types of jobs. With thoughtful implementation, AI can be harnessed to create positive economic and workforce impacts.

Poltergeist Prejudice: Perpetuated Bias, Ethical Concerns, and Irresponsibility

AI technology speeds up tasks like sorting through resumes for a job opening or tracking data. With that said, AI systems can inherit and amplify existing societal biases. This raises a number of concerns as more and more organizations turn to AI technologies for the automation capabilities. 

A National Institute of Standards and Technology report shared a study of 189 facial recognition algorithms and how most of them demonstrated bias. The researchers reported that the technology falsely identified Black and Asian faces 10 to 100 times more often than they did white faces. Women were also more often falsely identified.

Governments seek to determine best ways to regulate AI with New York City being the first to pass a law in 2021 with rules enforced this July. Thoughtful design and smart governance frameworks are required to ensure that AI doesn’t perpetuate societal problems. Companies and governments deploying AI must audit for biases, ensure transparency, evaluate use cases carefully, and institute human oversight measures.

In a “New Regulatory Approach to Facial Recognition,” Jason Schultz, a professor at the New York University School of Law, believes that facial recognition companies must consider new, consent-based approaches to their image gathering as right-of-publicity claims gain momentum. As technology advances so too must the guiding principles and frameworks to protect privacy, avoid bias, and disrupt irresponsibility.

AI Data Voodoo: Protecting User Data While Leveraging AI

Data breaches are scary, and bad actors are discovering new ways to use AI technologies to access user information, such as the AI-controlled botnet data breach with TaskRabbit in 2018 or the more recent and accidental Microsoft AI researchers data leak. Protecting private information alongside the use of AI is important.

Three possible solutions to protecting user data include federated learning, differential privacy, and encrypted data. Federated learning trains AI models with decentralized data stored on user devices while differential privacy anonymizes data by adding controlled noise. End-to-end encryption also helps keep information secure. 

Let’s not forget that AI and automation are powerful tools in cybersecurity, and they have demonstrated accelerated data breach identification and containment, saving companies as much as USD 1.8 million in data breach costs according to the Cost of a Data Breach 2023 global survey.

With deliberate effort, companies can find ways to benefit from AI while also earning user trust through robust privacy protections. Establishing oversight groups and following frameworks like the EU’s GDPR can guide policies that give users more control over their data. Being transparent, providing opt-out options, and restricting data usage are key principles.

Bewitching: AI Dependence vs. AI Assistance

Artificial Intelligence can be scary because some view it as a complete replacement of humans across the board; however, that skips the fact that humans have a unique ability to make decisions based on data as well as external factors. AI technologies can be a great tool, but they work best with a human manager. The goal of AI should be to augment, not replace, human intelligence.

One article observes that “the fear of AI often boils down to the fear of loss – loss of control, loss of privacy, and loss of human value.”

Some solutions for preventing overreliance include having humans remain “in the loop” for consequential decisions rather than fully automating them. Companies and governments deploying AI should also conduct impact assessments to anticipate risks. Additionally, requiring transparency and explanation from AI systems can build understanding and trust in their capabilities.

AI can be viewed as a powerful collaborative tool rather than a decision-making authority. While AI dependence is a valid concern, keeping humans ultimately in control can allow society to reap the benefits of AI assistance without surrendering our agency or discernment. The ideal future combines the strengths of human and artificial intelligence.

The key is shaping policies, education, incentives, and labor models to focus AI on enhancing humans rather than replacing them. With forethought, humans and AI can positively co-evolve. Truth is that AI is not even ready or able to completely replace humans.

 

Interested in learning about how AI can cut business costs and boost company productivity? Reach out to MAXXpotential.com about your interest in optimizing your back office capabilities.