In today’s media driven society, the essence of truth and factuality is more precarious than ever. That reality has come to light after a high-quality deepfake video circulated from Twitter to Reddit featuring the US First Lady, Jill Biden. The list of recent deepfake examples heightens the demand for efficient and scalable deepfake detection tools. In this article, we’ll discuss how deepfakes are made, analyze the Jill Biden incident, and the potential impact of manipulated media.
The Emergence of Deepfake Voice AI
Before we look at the incident, let’s take a moment to understand the mechanics of deepfake technology. A deepfake voice generator or generative voice AI software employs sophisticated algorithms for voice cloning. The AI voice generator often produces unbelievably accurate and natural-sounding AI voice clones. Once voice AI content is generated, these voice deepfakes can be paired with video content to create a celebrity deepfake video. The manipulated content has the power to wildly mislead the viewer.
The barriers to entry have been lowered significantly by online AI voice deepfake platforms and free text to speech software. These platforms provide text to speech voice changers that enable anyone to create a celebrity voice. Some tools promote themselves as a celebrity voice generator, such as Fakeyou or Parrot AI, producing indistinguishable celebrity voice overs.
The Incident: Jill Biden Deepfake Video
The Jill Biden deepfake video appears to show the First Lady articulating views that sharply criticize her husband’s policies on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The 3-second intro at the beginning of the video features what looks to be authentic video of Jill Biden. However, after the intro she no longer appears, and this is where the criticism of her husband begins. At first glance, this deepfake does not appear to be a simple text to speech conversion. Although it is too difficult to determine, the quality seems to have incorporated AI voice with granular control over inflection and intonation. Before pressing play, please note that the video has graphic images, and swearing.
Jill Biden’s deepfake video shows her being critical and unsupportive of her husband.
Deepfake Voice Detection
While government regulation has lagged in addressing the concerns surrounding deepfakes, in July, we released Resemble Detect—a state-of-the-art deepfake detection tool designed to confront deepfakes across all media types. The deep neural network was a key addition to our comprehensive anti-virus for AI security stack, which includes our AI watermarker, PerTh.
The Implications of Jill Biden’s Deepfake
When deepfake voice AI technologies are employed maliciously, as we’ve seen in the case involving the U.S. First Lady Jill Biden, the implications are manifold and deeply concerning.
Political Misinformation
The dissemination of political news misinformation from deepfakes can rapidly alter public opinion by attributing false statements to political figures. This has the potential to destabilize the democratic process and increase political polarity amongst parties and their consituents.
News Misinformation
Another major concern is the spread of inaccurate or false news. The impact of ‘fake news’ can have a tremendous effect on public sentiment and opinion. This can potentially place a strain on diplomatic relationships as well.
Personal and Professional Concerns
While it’s unlikely that this deepfake had an adverse impact on the First Couple’s relationship, being associated with similar content can create unwarranted tension in one’s personal and professional life.
A Call For Collective Vigilance
In a world with data overload and digital footprints, it’s easy to be duped by a deepfake voice generator free of scrutiny. But the incident involving the First Lady serves as a stark reminder of the potential repercussions of deepfake technology on our societal fabric.
The need for scalable and efficient deepfake detection is not a luxury; it’s a necessity. With rapid advancements in AI voice detector tools and deepfake detection algorithms, Resemble AI continues to arm applications and enterprises against the growing threat of deepfake AI voices. The road ahead will be full of challenges, but together we can build a future where the voice you hear is indeed a voice you can trust.
