TL;DR: World-famous pop star Taylor Swift has turn into the newest sufferer of deepfake pornography this week, after AI-generated photographs of her have been shared tens of hundreds of thousands of occasions on social media platforms. With that, deepfakes are again within the legislative consciousness. Congressional representatives and even the White Home have now weighed in on the matter.
Specific photographs of singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, 34, have been shared on X this week, garnering over 27 million views and 260,000 “likes” earlier than the account that posted the pictures was shut down. That did little to cease the unfold although, as the pictures have continued to flow into and have reportedly been considered over 40 million occasions.
Responding to the incident, X has been actively eradicating the pictures and has disabled searches for Taylor Swift on the platform to attempt to include the unfold. In an announcement, it mentioned, “We’re carefully monitoring the scenario to make sure that any additional violations are instantly addressed, and the content material is eliminated.”
However on-platform moderation might not be sufficient. Now, members of the US Congress and even the White Home have weighed in on the problem. US consultant Joe Morelle has mentioned that deepfake photographs “may cause irrevocable emotional, monetary, and reputational hurt – and sadly, ladies are disproportionately impacted.”
Democratic consultant Yvette Clark mentioned, “what’s occurred to Taylor Swift is nothing new. For years, ladies have been targets of deepfakes [without] their consent. And [with] developments in AI, creating deepfakes is simpler & cheaper.”
On Friday, White Home Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, known as the pictures “alarming” and mentioned in an announcement, “Whereas social media firms make their very own unbiased selections about content material administration, we imagine they’ve an essential position to play in implementing their very own guidelines to stop the unfold of misinformation, and non-consensual, intimate imagery of actual individuals.”
What’s occurred to Taylor Swift is nothing new. For yrs, ladies have been targets of deepfakes w/o their consent. And w/ developments in AI, creating deepfakes is simpler & cheaper.
This is a matter either side of the aisle & even Swifties ought to be capable to come collectively to resolve.
– Yvette D. Clarke (@RepYvetteClarke) January 25, 2024
As said by Consultant Clark, this isn’t a brand new subject. However with such a high-profile goal, the issue has lower by the general public discourse and now could also be a doable goal for future laws.
Within the UK, specific deepfakes have been made unlawful underneath the On-line Security Act in October 2023. PornHub, a significant on-line supplier of grownup media, has banned deepfakes on their platform since 2018.
Ms. Swift has but to remark publicly on the incident.
Whether or not or not this newest high-profile incident results in legislative adjustments, it is clear that AI content material is already inflicting points for law-makers. Simply this week we reported on the primary identified occasion of AI-generated messaging getting used to suppress voter turnout, after a faux President Biden known as New Hampshire residents and urged them to not vote.