Security News > 2024 > April > People doubt their own ability to spot AI-generated deepfakes

The actual number of people exposed to political and other deepfakes is expected to be much higher given many Americans are not able to decipher what is real versus fake, thanks to the sophistication of AI technologies.

"It's not only adversarial governments creating deepfakes this election season, it is now something anyone can do in an afternoon. The tools to create cloned audio and deepfake video are readily available and take only a few hours to master, and it takes just seconds to convince you that it's all real. The ease with which AI can manipulate voices and visuals raises critical questions about the authenticity of content, particularly during a critical election year. In many ways, democracy is on the ballot this year thanks to AI," said Steve Grobman, McAfee's CTO. In a world where AI-generated content is widely available and capable of creating realistic visual and audio content, seeing is no longer believing.

66% of people are more concerned about deepfakes than they were a year ago.

As the political landscape heats up during a polarizing election year, so do concerns about deepfake technology.

If people can be fooled by AI-generated voice clones of loved ones or celebrities, the possibility of being tricked by AI-generated audio designed to fool people into thinking it comes from a political figure could significantly impact political discourse and election outcomes.

In the past 12 months, 43% of people say they've seen deepfake content, 26% of people have encountered a deepfake scam, and 9% have been a victim of a deepfake scam.

News URL

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2024/04/23/deepfake-concerns-in-election-year/