I can only imagine how you must be feeling after sexually explicit deepfake videos of you went viral on X. Disgusted. Distressed, perhaps. Humiliated, even.
I'm really sorry this is happening to you. Nobody deserves to have their image exploited like that. But if you aren't already, I'm asking you to be furious.
Furious that this is happening to you and so many other women and marginalized people around the world. Furious that our current laws are woefully inept at protecting us from violations like this. Furious that men (because let's face it, it's mostly men doing this) can violate us in such an intimate way and walk away unscathed and unidentified. Furious that the companies that enable this material to be created and shared widely face no consequences either, and can profit off such a horrendous use of their technology.
Deepfake porn has been around for years, but its latest incarnation is its worst one yet. Generative AI has made it ridiculously easy and cheap to create realistic deepfakes. And nearly all deepfakes are made for porn. Only one image plucked off social media is enough to generate something passable. Anyone who has ever posted or had a photo published of them online is a sitting duck.
First, the bad news. At the moment, we have no good ways to fight this. I just published a story looking at three ways we can combat nonconsensual deepfake porn, which include watermarks and data-poisoning tools. But the reality is that there is no neat technical fix for this problem. The fixes we do have are still experimental and haven't been adopted widely by the tech sector, which limits their power.
The tech sector has thus far been unwilling or unmotivated to make changes that would prevent such material from being created with their tools or shared on their platforms. That is why we need regulation.
People with power, like yourself, can fight with money and lawyers. But low-income women, women of color, women fleeing abusive partners, women journalists, and even children are all seeing their likeness stolen and pornified, with no way to seek justice or support. Any one of your fans could be hurt by this development.
The good news is that the fact that this happened to you means politicians in the US are listening. You have a rare opportunity, and momentum, to push through real, actionable change.
I know you fight for what is right and aren't afraid to speak up when you see injustice. There will be intense lobbying against any rules that would affect tech companies. But you have a platform and the power to convince lawmakers across the board that rules to combat these sorts of deepfakes are a necessity. Tech companies and politicians need to know that the days of dithering are over. The people creating these deepfakes need to be held accountable.
You once caused an actual earthquake. Winning the fight against nonconsensual deepfakes would have an even more earth-shaking impact.
Discover how generative AI is becoming a trusted co-pilot for supervisors, offering real-time insights and enhancing decision-making. MIT Technology Review Insights explores the dynamic landscape of AI-driven customer experiences.
People are worried that AI will take everyone's jobs. We've been here before.
Impressive recent breakthroughs in generative AI, robots, and driverless cars have led many to worry that advanced technologies will replace human workers and decrease demand for labor. Some leading Silicon Valley techno-optimists even postulate that we're headed toward a jobless future where everything can be done by AI.
But fear not: Worries over the future of jobs are not new and are best addressed by applying an understanding of economics rather than conjuring up genies and monsters. David Rotman, editor at large at MIT Technology Review, looks at what the past can teach us about the future of AI and labor. Here's what he found.
Bits and Bytes
What's next for robotaxis in 2024 In addition to restoring public trust, robotaxi companies need to prove that their business models are financially viable. (MIT Technology Review)
How AI is changing gymnastics judging Proponents say the AI-powered Judging Support System, first tested at the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, last October, will promote fairness and transparency in the sport. But some fear that AI judging will take away something that makes gymnastics special. (MIT Technology Review)
This tech executive quit to fight generative AI's original sin Ed Newton-Rex, who used to lead startup Stability AI's music and audio work, left his job over ethical concerns about how the company collects its data by scraping the internet. Now he's set up a nonprofit called Fairly Trained, which will let AI companies certify that their training data practices "respect creators' rights." (Wired)
The Federal Trade Commission has launched an inquiry into Big Tech's AI deals The commission is investigating multimillion-dollar investments into AI startups OpenAI and Anthropic. The inquiry, shich will look into how the deals affected competition in tech, could help antitrust regulators decide whether laws were broken. (The New York Times)
This Chinese company is winning the open-source AI race Startup 01.AI, founded by Kai-Fu Lee, an AI expert and prominent investor who helped Google and Microsoft set up shop in China, has released an open-source model that outperforms Meta's Llama 2. It also scores highly in many AI leaderboards. (Wired)
Even the pope is fed up with deepfakes Pope Francis wasn't too happy about the AI deepfake of him wearing a puffer jacket. He has called for worldwide regulation of the technology and warned of its "perverse" dangers. (Reuters)
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