Comment: Taylor Swift deepfake raises questions about AI

Dr Dominic Lees, Associate Professor in Filmmaking and expert in Generative AI, said:

“Horrendous fake video images of Taylor Swift have raised public awareness of the malicious uses of this technology.  What are the major issues in public life and culture that this raises?

“Deepfakes were specifically designed to create non-consensual porn by the unidentified developer who launched this application of machine learning technology in 2017.  Since then, women across the world have been victimised by this tech. If the most powerful women in cultural life, including Gal Gadot and Taylor Swift, have found that they are defenceless, where does this leave disempowered women?

“Taylor Swift’s image, her face, has been manipulated and misused. To what extent should we have control over how our face is used by AI?

“What is being done about it?  There is no systematic pattern of regulation and legislation across the world and politicians cannot keep pace with technology.  Technological options, such as watermarking videos, are failing to provide a reliable solution.  Are there any effective ways to control deepfakes?

“Should we have regulation to protect the face as part of our right to privacy?  Should there be one rule for those who put themselves into public life, and one for private citizens?

“Does the reaction to the Taylor Swift deepfakes signal a broader reaction against the libertarian principles that have been part of online culture for so long?   Tech corporations have built their fortunes on the foundation of unregulated communication across social media, but there is a gathering storm of revulsion at the social harms that this entails.  Will Swifties use their tried and tested collective power to press for tough regulation in the US, setting the standard for other countries including the UK?

“This same technology is being used increasingly in film and television production, including in Robert Zemeckis forthcoming movie, Here.  Will audiences embrace such ethical, mainstream use of deepfakes, or react against it?”