What is a deepfake video?

A deepfake video is a multimedia item created with the help of artificial intelligence to fake a person's appearance and voice. So far, deepfakes are funny things in which a celebrity does or says something ridiculous. But this technology can potentially become a powerful criminal tool for blackmail.

When was the first deepfake made?

It takes a lot of work to answer this question accurately. This is because Deepfakes didn't appear overnight but are the result of constantly advancing technology. As a result, the line dividing traditional video editing and AI-powered video editing is fuzzy. In reality, even the most advanced deepfakes use both methods. However, we can trace the appearance of the word "deepfake." It happened on Reddit in 2017 as a username. So the first deepfakes appeared around that time too.

How are deepfake videos made?

Several services allow users to create deepfakes. For instance, Deepfakesweb lets you create deepfake videos, but it's not free to use. Depending on the length, a video will cost you from 5 to 75 USD. Wombo and DeepFaceLAb are other options. We do not condone the use of advanced technology for criminal purposes. However, remember that you could be sued for liability and extortion if you come up with a deepfake video and publish it.

Why deepfake technology is dangerous?

The dangers of deepfakes lie in their potential to get misused for malicious purposes. That can include fabricating fake news or spreading misinformation. They can also aid in creating non-consensual pornographic imagery, a serious invasion of privacy. Additionally, bad actors can use deepfakes to create fake videos of people saying or doing things they never actually said or did.

What are Deepfakes, and Why Are They so Dangerous?

Jorge Felix - Cybersecurity Expert

Last updated: November 7, 2023

Read time: 16 minutes

This is an estimated reading time to let you know how long it will take you to read all the content on this particular PrivacySavvy.com page. However, it has a sneak peek, easy guide steps, and/or a quick list providing quick in-page navigations and easily-found answers if desired.

Deepfakes pose great entertainment opportunities but also criminal activities. This article explains the risks and how to avoid them.

Sneak peek at Deepfakes and their risks

Deepfakes are the latest development in AI-assisted multimedia. The means to produce deepfakes are becoming increasingly available to the general public. That involves risks and potential for criminal activities like we’ve never seen before. The only trick to avoid being fooled by deepfake is to detect it by knowing what deepfake is all about.

Perfect replication has been a holy grail of sorts for Sci-Fi for decades. Think about Star Trek’s replicator devices which can reproduce anything from food to tools, except for latinum, which is why it’s the galaxy’s currency. Or the T-1000 robot in the Terminator franchise can adapt its shape to look like any person. Well, digital technology’s current state of the art is getting close to perfect replication, at least when it comes to digital media. So now we have a new technological item, the “deepfake .”It’s a piece of media altered to look and sound like anybody, dead or alive. So the future is here, and it’s not always good news.

What is a Deepfakes?

Deepfake is a piece of digital media. Videos are the most popular kind that is engineered to look genuine.

Deepfakes come courtesy of our most advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. These cutting-edge tools allow the manipulation of video and audio that come close to the real thing. Very close indeed.

Look at this example below. It features a false Mark Zuckerberg (of Facebook fame) in which he uttered a few words worthy of a Bond villain — even referencing Spectre.