'AI Godfather' and Experts Call for Increased Regulation of Deepfakes in Open Letter
The open letter, signed by AI experts and industry executives, calls for increased regulation of deepfakes due to their potential risks to society. Recommendations include criminalising deepfake child pornography, penalising individuals involved in the creation and spread of harmful deepfakes, and requiring AI companies to prevent the creation of harmful deepfakes. Over 400 individuals from various industries, including academia, entertainment, and politics, have signed the letter.
In a collective effort to address the growing concerns surrounding deepfake technology, renowned artificial intelligence (AI) experts and industry executives, including the esteemed pioneer Yoshua Bengio, have signed an open letter advocating for stricter regulation. The letter emphasises the potential risks that deepfakes pose to society and calls for safeguards to be implemented.
The open letter, titled "Disrupting the Deepfake Supply Chain," was spearheaded by Andrew Critch, an AI researcher at UC Berkeley. It highlights the alarming prevalence of deepfakes, which are realistic yet fabricated images, audios, and videos created using AI algorithms. Recent advancements in this technology have made deepfakes increasingly indistinguishable from genuine human-created content.
The group behind the letter asserts that deepfakes currently involve various forms of misuse, such as sexual imagery, fraud, and political disinformation. With AI progressing rapidly and making the creation of deepfakes more accessible, the signatories argue that comprehensive regulation is imperative.
The letter puts forth several recommendations for regulating deepfakes. These include advocating for the full criminalisation of deepfake child pornography, imposing criminal penalties on individuals who knowingly create or facilitate the spread of harmful deepfakes, and requiring AI companies to take proactive measures to prevent the creation of harmful deepfakes by their products.
The call for increased regulation has garnered significant support, with over 400 individuals from diverse industries, including academia, entertainment, and politics, signing the letter. Notable signatories include Steven Pinker, a psychology professor at Harvard University, two former Estonian presidents, researchers from Google DeepMind, and a representative from OpenAI.
The urgency to ensure that AI systems do not harm society has been a focal point for regulators, particularly since the introduction of ChatGPT by Microsoft-backed OpenAI in late 2022. ChatGPT, an AI model capable of engaging users in human-like conversations and performing various tasks, has raised concerns about the potential misuse of such powerful AI systems.
Prominent figures, including Elon Musk, have previously voiced their apprehensions about the risks associated with AI. In a letter signed by Musk last year, he called for a six-month pause in the development of AI systems that surpass the capabilities of OpenAI's GPT-4 model.
The open letter, signed by AI experts and industry executives, calls for increased regulation of deepfakes due to their potential risks to society.
Recommendations include criminalising deepfake child pornography, penalising individuals involved in the creation and spread of harmful deepfakes, and requiring AI companies to prevent the creation of harmful deepfakes.
Over 400 individuals from various industries, including academia, entertainment, and politics, have signed the letter.
Source: REUTERS