Gaurav Rathore
His write-ups blend creativity, personal experience, and tailored technical advice, meeting reader needs effectively.
We are all living in a generation where seeing is no longer believing, thanks to the AI outbreak and the invention of deepfake technology.
Although many people think the idea of manipulating audio and videos isn’t much of a concern, the parents on the internet seem to think otherwise, as their children are the most vulnerable to the deepfake’s potential threats.
So, if you are worried your child might get the short end of the stick from this technology, you must read this blog to the end and find out what risks it truly holds for your kids. So, let’s jump in!
Quick Answer:
Deepfakes are fake videos or audio that are created using deep technology. It manipulates media to resemble a person’s voice or image and depicts events that never happened in real life.
Deepfakes are fake videos created using unique digital software, i.e., machine learning. These videos combine thousands of images that depict fake events that never really happened in real life.
This technology manipulates media and replaces a person’s appearance and voice with such similarity that it becomes hard to decipher what is reality and what is a work of AI.
In simple terms, it is an advanced photo-editing software that allows your kids to alter the images and get results that are on par with reality.
However, deep fakes are often misleading and spread false rumors among netizens. Although the creator’s intention might be good, the results may create chaos and drag someone’s name to the dirt.
Origins of Deepfake:
The term ‘deepfake’ was first seen in 2017 by an anonymous Reddit user who used deep technology to create pornographic videos. He used face-swapping technology and replaced real faces with celebrities to commit crimes.
Although the basic concept of deep fake technology is facial recognition, it involves a machine learning technique called a ‘generative adversarial network’ (GAN). It is an all-purpose technology that can create new audio, texts, and videos.
To create deepfakes, it analyzes thousands of photos, recognizes the patterns, and captures the landmark points (corners of your eyes and mouth, your nostrils, and the contour of your jawline) to map faces and move them as desired.
After mapping and adding the audio, it adds background and creates realistic videos without copying the pre-existing ones.
Needless to say, Deepfakes are not safe for kids at all!
In January 2023, a mother received a call from her daughter and was greeted by her daughter’s sobbing voice, saying, that she was kidnapped. But later, it turned out that her daughter was safe and sound, and the call she received was probably a deepfake.
With the rising numbers of deep fakes, AI kidnapping scams, extortion, online bullying, and the creation of child pornography are becoming more evident, putting the kid’s mental and physical health on the line.
So, I recommend you keep your child away from this dangerous technology that brings no good to them.
Is Deepfake Illegal?
Under the Online Safety Act, sharing deepfakes is illegal. Several states, including California, Virginia, and Texas, have also passed legislation to regulate the use of deepfakes.
Moreover, according to the World Economic Forum, the US is drafting new laws to protect against harmful, deep fake content.
Although creating deepfakes for entertainment is often harmless, it has some serious risks associated with it that parents must pay attention to.
Various users on the internet use deepfakes to spread false information among children who have an insufficient understanding of what is true and what is false.
If the criminals on the internet get access to your child’s image, they might misuse it to create compromising content like pornography and later use it to coerce ransom.
Deepfakes are often the reason why kids get subjected to cyberbullying and harassment, as they get mocked for morphed videos with obscene content.
Criminals often use voice cloning to bait little kids and scam money out of them, as they consider children to be easy targets.
Deepfakes threaten little children’s safety at some serious levels, and thus, parents must exercise caution and take proactive measures to secure their children.
Teach your child responsible online behavior, which includes abstaining from creating fake content or sharing it with others.
To prevent your child from getting involved in suspicious activities, install third-party parental control apps on your child’s smartphone.
Teach your kids how to verify everything they see on the internet before sharing it with anyone or believing it.
Apart from that, I recommend you develop your children’s media literacy so they know which sources to trust or which to ignore.
Tell your kids the importance of keeping things private and sharing only the required information, as criminals often use it for extortion and other serious crimes.
Sit down with your kid and have an honest conversation about the looming dangers of deep fakes and how they can ruin your kid’s life.
Due to the highly prevalent Deepfakes on the internet, it has become necessary to learn whether the content your child is consuming is real or fake.
For that, you need to use critical thinking and ask yourself some questions like what is the source of the video, where it was taken, who is the one benefiting from it, and why someone is sharing it.
Apart from that, I recommend you focus on some characteristics of video, such as:
Undoubtedly, Deepfake technology has opened new possibilities in various areas, such as filmmaking, art, education, and many more. However, worryingly, it has become a hub for online predators who are lurking around to bait innocent people, especially kids.
Thus, if you ever find your child talking about deepfakes, consider it your cue to sit down with them and have a serious discussion.
No, using deepfake technology is not a crime unless you are using it for malicious purposes.
Although deepfake legal standing is tricky, the use of facial manipulation of deepfakes to create or distribute child sexual abuse material is illegal.
Faceswap allows you to swap faces, while deepfake involves swapping faces and altering voices, creating entirely synthetic videos or images of people doing or saying things they never actually did.
