Kaycee Dionio
September 26, 2023
Graphic by: Cyriel Valeroso/The Communiqué
Artificial intelligence is not as horrible as movies portray it to be, but it poses a threat.
Artificial Intelligence is not entirely bad. It will not be similar to “I, Robot,” or “Ex Machina,” not even ”Avengers: Age of Ultron” in which robots and machines develop an awareness of their own, get enraged, and subjugate humanity to rule the entire globe, eventually leading to a catastrophe or worse, the end of the world.
Even though that sort of outcome could be conceivable in the near future given the rate at which artificial intelligence is evolving, there are still more current pressing issues that need close attention right now.
The advent of technology gave birth to an array of innovations and breakthroughs that changed the world at large, among them is Artificial Intelligence or AI — the development of computer systems capable of carrying out tasks that frequently involve human intelligence. Face and voice recognition, bank security, maps and navigation, grammar checkers, social media algorithms, and virtual assistants (e.g., Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa), all of which are artificial intelligence that we use and find beneficial.
But what if it is not merely a tool to assist people anymore?
Expansion of AI
After the launch of chatGPT last year, in November 2022, AI has become more predominant on the Internet than it’s ever been. It is now replicating the work of humans and humans themselves. AI is now capable of giving answers to queries and creating a variety of written material, such as blog posts, social media updates, essays, and emails. Even songs could be sung by a different voice thanks to it; one example is Ariana Grande's AI rendition of Sza's Kill Bill.
People do not have to go through a lengthy creative process of making art, they could simply sit in their chairs, type prompts, and AI will generate the art for them. Moreover, AI chatbots have made it possible for people to communicate with famous individuals and fictional characters by copying their exact personality traits and speaking styles, creating an immersive experience that makes it seem as though people are truly interacting with Albert Einstein and Walter White from Breaking Bad.
However, there exists a more contentious and perhaps dangerous technology that sprang from AI called Deepfake.
The term "Deepfake" refers to a type of artificial intelligence that makes images of fake events. Deepfake technology is capable of generating and manipulating convincing, but fabricated images or videos from other people’s face shots or from nothing at all. It simply takes a few steps to get Michael Jackson to dance to the latest hit songs or to get politicians to say or do something uncharacteristically. It is fun to watch, but also very dangerous.
Deepfake is now plagued by a number of detrimental concerns. First is nonconsensual Deepfake pornography. Many existing Deepfakes are for pornography, its magnum opus, so to speak. In September 2019, a report from the AI firm DeepTrace Labs discovered 15,000 Deepfake videos online, 96% of them were pornographic, and 99% of them morphed the features of female celebrities onto porn stars. With its rise, revenge porn and "sextortion" may soon be common, and since there is so much publicly accessible photo and video content of anyone in the world, the off-chance of an innocent young woman being Deepfaked is not so impossible anymore.
Aside from being weaponized against women, it could also be used for political propaganda and blackmail. It could now be easy for politicians to discredit their rivals by "proving" that they made divisive or incendiary remarks and those in positions of authority might also use technology to stifle their critics or opponents through defamation, and worse, there could be a piece of forged, but totally convincing evidence.
Spammers may contact someone and pose as their relative to trick them into giving out their personal information and force them to transfer large sums of money. Cyberbullying may also increase by setting someone in an embarrassing situation and posting it online. But more importantly, it could also be a risk to public safety.
Consider the havoc that may be caused by a phony local news report about terrorism or a deadly virus. It could even be a simple disinformation campaign concerning the health risks and effectiveness of a vaccine or medicine.
What now?
The rapid expansion of these new AI technologies is an indication that society as a whole is changing rapidly and recklessly. Perhaps the threat posed by AI is not machines taking over humans, but the weaponization of disinformation that is already worsening progressively.
What we must do is be conscious of how it affects us and use it responsibly, limiting the use of AI to an appropriate degree. Laws limiting its usage must also be enforced, especially at a time when it is used for purposes other than amusement. AI might also
be the solution to these concerns.
Tech companies should develop more advanced detecting technologies to identify fakes anytime they arise. Image and video tampering can occur due to an insecure source, and while it sounds idealistic, creating an impenetrable repository of films, pictures, and sounds may allow the source material and alterations to be inspected at any moment.
The repercussions of AI are far simpler than we imagine, far simpler than the plot summaries of dystopian sci-fi films. The far-future danger posed by AI may not be catastrophic destruction, but rather a minor disruption that may or may not have a negative influence on someone's life.
If AI can solve our problems, it could also create problems for us.
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