Deepfake challenges ‘will only grow’
Northwestern NowJan 15, 2023
Beginning in November, roughly a year before the 2024 US presidential election, Google will require a prominent disclosure for any political ads on its services — such as YouTube — that include audio or images synthetically altered or created by artificial intelligence (AI).
The rule, which will apply to "all verified election advisors," will demand a "clear and conspicuous" notice "in a location where it is likely to be noticed by users," Google said in its announcement on Wednesday.
Not only should tech companies be reviewing AI-generated images and videos, but the government should enact laws to prevent this insidious content from polarizing society even more. Until that happens, however, everyone must learn to carefully analyze the images they see online before spreading them onto the internet.
While Google isn't calling for an outright ban on deepfake images, requiring disclaimers is a slippery slope that could lead to forced labels on other content, such as satire and simpler forms of editing. Lying about what people said, and even doctoring images to fit a narrative, were around long before the advent of AI, so just because a new technology exists doesn't mean we should lose our right to use it how we please.