Making a technological advancement is always something people look forward to but that very technology starts becoming a problem when it is used for the wrong reasons with a mala-fide intention. Such a technological advancement is ‘Artificial Intelligence’. Use it for increasing productivity and improving skills and it works wonders, but when this very thing is used for the wrong reasons, it can get become extremely dangerous.

A recent ‘deep faked’ video that showed actress Rashmika Mandanna has raised the alarm to look into what AI can do and what its true potential can be in the wrong hands. Deepfakes are AI-generated videos where one person’s face can be swapped with some other person’s face in a video that is not theirs and also alter videos which makes it difficult to judge whether the video is real or tampered with. Deepfakes use a form of AI called deep learning to create these deceptive images and videos which is why they are called “deepfakes.

Deepfakes are created essentially to make people feel that the photo or video is genuine and features those very people when in fact, they are not in the photo and video at all. This technology is used to make fictional, morphed photos and videos and even used to create voice clones to transform an existing image, video or even audio. The technology can also be used to create original content where someone is shown doing or saying something they didn’t do or say.

So how do we actually find and identify Deepfakes and judge whether the content is real or fake?

1) Look for weird facial movements and expressions.

2) Look for body movement, posture or body proportions which do not match that of the real individual

3) Carefully look to see if the audio doesn’t match the person’s lips

4) Check if the video fits the person’s usual behavior.

5) Verify the source for trustworthiness.

6) Look for any strange blurring or distortions.

7) Use deepfake detection tools when available.

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