Artificial Intelligence Practices: Deepfake

Humanity directs its future with the technologies it develops. It is an undeniable fact that these developments have both positive and negative effects. So why do technological developments, which first appeared as one of the tools of coping with nature in primitive societies, now appear as another area of ​​struggle for humanity? Why does humanity fall into the contradiction of creating another big "problem" to overcome "one big problem"? In other words, what lies behind the mind that turns the stone, which is considered one of the first technological tools, into a tool of murder and one of the biggest threats to itself?

In this context, it is possible to say that the fact that the developments that we put forward as a solution to a problem bring about other problems from another direction is another result of the human mind. This reality, which humanity has brought to the modern world, forces us, who are in search of making our lives easier and more meaningful with new technologies, while also eliminating the dangers with law and other instruments provided by technology. One of the most striking examples of this struggle of humanity shows itself with artificial intelligence applications.

Success in creating artificial intelligence will be the greatest event in human history. Unfortunately, this could be the last one if we don't learn how to avoid risks.

Stephen Hawking1

What is Artificial Intelligence?

When studies on artificial intelligence are examined, different views are revealed regarding the historical process of artificial intelligence. As a matter of fact, the evaluations are generally considered on a philosophical and technical basis and their philosophical foundations extend from the ancient Greek gods to Aristotle; It can be seen that it is based on many different thinkers and periods, from Homer to Leonardo Da Vinci.

Artificial intelligence is algorithms developed for operations that a human can do and a computer cannot. [Therefore, the desired result with artificial intelligence is to imitate human-specific characteristics.] Algorithms, on the other hand, are a way designed to be followed step by step to perform a process. Artificial intelligence can perform operations that normally require humans at a much larger scale and speed.2

It should be noted that; Understanding the concepts of big data, machine learning and deep learning is important for understanding artificial intelligence and, in this context, the subject of deepfake, which is the focus of this literature. Namely;

Big data is an accumulation of data that is too large and complex to be processed by traditional database management tools. 3 The most important function mediated by big data is to handle large-scale data, which does not have any meaning on its own, within the framework of a certain context and patterns, to process it at high speed through artificial intelligence algorithms and turn it into meaningful results. These large data, which cannot be processed with traditional methods, are at some point made more meaningful with machine learning methods. Machine learning methods try to find the most appropriate model for new data by using historical data. 4 In this context, data is the key to machine learning, while artificial intelligence is the goal. 5 Finally, deep learning is defined as an advanced type of "artificial neural network" that processes more complex problems in areas such as computer vision and natural language processing . 6

The software in deep learning is trained with experiences based on previous data to react in mutual directions, instead of being programmed for a one-way solution of a problem 7 . In other words, two different deep learning technologies, which are in fierce competition with each other, optimize the next result in line with its purpose through the feedback one provides to the other. Essentially, we can make this situation more understandable with an allegory from the literature. In this allegory, there is a 'person who forges money' and tries to make the product he produces look as realistic as possible. On the other hand, 'Police' is portrayed as the person who has improved himself in detecting the fakeness of this product. Therefore, 'police' are in competition with each other in terms of detecting counterfeiting, and 'person who forges money' is in competition with each other in terms of not detecting counterfeiting. In order to produce a counterfeit money of the highest degree of deceptiveness or to detect a counterfeit money of the highest degree of deceptiveness with certainty, the 'police' and the 'Person who counterfeits the money' must draw conclusions from each other's experiences in competition. As the technique of producing fake products develops with the knowledge gained as a result of the experiences learned from this competition, the technique of detecting fake products will develop, and as the technique of detecting fake products improves, the technique of producing fake products will improve. According to this allegory, deep learning-GAN (generative adversarial networks) software simultaneously acts as a 'police' (discriminative model) and a 'money counterfeiter' (generative model). 8 Ultimately, all the outputs obtained manifest themselves in various ways in artificial intelligence applications.

Artificial Intelligence Applications: Deepfake

Today, the application areas of artificial intelligence are spreading rapidly to almost all disciplines. So much so that these technologies, which were initially only associated with a certain group of people, have now become consumption-production materials for ordinary people. Therefore, it is also used as a tool to further spread actions that mislead the public and cause violations of personal rights, intellectual industrial rights and personal data. One of the most common applications with this situation is "deepfake".

What is Deepfake?

In the response given by TDK to my application regarding whether there is a study on translating the word deepfake into Turkish: “Our Institution has not suggested any response for the word deepfake. "The issue of finding an appropriate response for this foreign word will be evaluated by our relevant boards." It is said. However, it can be simply said that it is formed by combining the words 'deep' and 'fake'.

Essentially, the new structure we call “deepfake” is actually based on deception, distortion and collapse of the data and the entire information chain. Deepfake is a product of artificial intelligence's "deep learning" and ability to produce unreal reality. 9 It is a type of media in which a person in an existing image or video is replaced with the image of another person using artificial neural networks. They are often generated by combining and superimposing existing media onto source media using autoencoders and machine learning techniques known as generative adversarial networks (GANs).10

A Brief History of Deepfake

Humanity is shaping its future with the technologies it has developed. It is an indisputable fact that these developments have negative effects as well as positive ones. But why do technological developments, which first manifested themselves in primitive societies as a means of coping with nature, confront humanity today as another area of struggle? Why does humanity fall into the contradiction of creating another big ‘problem’ in order to overcome ‘one big problem’? In other words, what lies beneath the mind that transforms the stone, which is considered one of the first technological tools, into one of the greatest threats to itself by turning it into an instrument of murder?

The basis of deepfake applications is based on videos created by an internet user with the nickname "r/deepfakes" and uploaded to the platform called "reddit" in 2017. This technology, the first examples of which we saw with manipulations on obscene content, continued to appear at astonishing levels over time. It can be seen from the deepfake applications that have been introduced so far that these technologies not only create excitement but also cause fear and anxiety.

|This study on Obama is one of the most striking examples of deepfake applications. After the voice and images of Obama are imitated by someone else, the imitator's mouth movements are combined with other elements in the image of Obama.

We often witness that deepfake applications are tried on famous people. In fact, an important reason why this situation arises is that a lot of data about high-profile people can be accessed on the internet. Abundance of data is of great importance to achieve successful results.

These applications include cinema, television, etc. While it creates a positive atmosphere in some sectors, it also creates a contrary atmosphere among important people and institutions at government levels and in some other sectors. It is also seen that inspiring applications are being tried, especially in the cinema industry, which are thought to create many opportunities.

|In this work, which aroused great interest among the fans of the movie, Tom Holland, the leading actor of Spider-Man: No Way Home, is replaced by Tobey Maguire, the hero of the first series.

In addition to positive developments, it seems that there are also abuses. As a matter of fact, in the early days of deepfake applications, it was witnessed that the faces of many actors were used in obscene content. Such damage caused by deepfake technology is being prevented by legal regulations and some technological developments. However, time will tell to what extent these dangers can reach and to what extent they can be overcome.

How Dangerous Are Deepfake Applications?

A situation encountered in many other areas also manifests itself in deepfake applications and inevitably adds different dimensions to the developments with examples of good and bad use. As a matter of fact, according to a study, it was determined that 96% of the deepfake videos found on the internet consisted of inappropriate content, while only 4% consisted of the rest. 11 Moreover, how much of this small part contributes to positive developments is another matter of debate.

While deepfake applications were initially only used in inappropriate videos, over time they also moved to political platforms. From videos that ultimately mislead the public by using heads of state, to the use of famous actors in obscene content; There are many examples of abuse, from certain practices that constitute fraud, attacks on intellectual industrial property and personal rights, to deepfake videos that attempt to influence the course of wars. Likewise, during the war between Russia and Ukraine, Zelensky can be seen calling for surrender in a video purported to belong to the Ukrainian leader. 12 In another incident that has come to the fore, it is claimed that Russian intelligence attempted to contact the company manager, which is the manufacturer of unmanned warplanes used in the war and significantly affecting the course of the war, by using deepfake technology. 13

In addition, deepfake technology is also subject to acts that may be crimes in the context of criminal law. In one case, the perpetrator pretended to be a manager of an energy company and called the manager of the subsidiary company, and with artificial intelligence technology, it was made to think that the person they called was actually talking to his own manager. Ultimately, the incident resulted in the deceived subsidiary manager making the money transfer as desired by the perpetrator. In this example, the manager's voice was imitated and the subsidiary company manager was prevented from noticing the deception. 14

However, as stated, deepfake applications, which we see reaching dangerous levels, also appear to mediate the production of entertaining content. There are many content providers producing for this purpose. On the other hand, with these technologies, we witness cases where robot images are created from very simple drawings, moments when deceased people come to life again with images, and movies or advertisements in which a beloved deceased actor is revived. In this regard, how dangerous these technologies will be will also depend on the motives we have put forward.