Is democracy at risk? Helped by AI, deepfakes are becoming ever harder to detect. Experts fear that they could already be tipping the balance in closely run political contests.
Experts fear year of Deepfake Elections
Is democracy at risk? Helped by AI, deepfakes are becoming ever harder to detect. Experts fear that they could already be tipping the balance in closely run political contests.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper">Earth-shaking fakes?</h2>
The face in the video is instantly familiar: there is British leader Rishi Sunak addressing government ministers. "We've done our best to sort out the disastrous mistakes made by previous Tory prime ministers," he says. "But it's an impossible task. If anything, we've made things worse. If I had to say what was best for the country, I would honestly tell people to vote for LabourBritain's main left-of-centre political party.."
Such a confession, if real, would spell disaster for the Conservative PartyA British political party. Members are known as Tories. in Britain's next general election. Of course, Sunak would never say any such thing. But the technology exists to make it look as though he has.
Last month 143 posts with deepfakesThis technique uses artificial intelligence to change the identity of a person in an image or a video - or to make it appear that a person is saying or doing something that they never said or did. targeting Sunak were promoted on Facebook.1 One showed a BBC newsreader announcing the scandalous news that the prime minister was secretly earning "colossal sums from a project that was initially intended for ordinary citizens".
The posts originated in 23 different countries, including the US and Turkey. Though they were against Facebook's rules, they may have reached 400,000 people.
Labour's leader Keir Starmer has also been targeted. During the party's conference last September, an audio clip emerged of him apparently swearing at his aides. Even though it was quickly revealed to be a fake, 1.5 million people heard it.2
London's mayor Sadiq Khan was another victim. An audio clip was released in November of him apparently calling for Armistice Day to be rescheduled to allow for a pro-Palestinian march.
A fake audio clip was also created during Slovakia's general election in September to discredit the leader of the liberalLiberalism is a school of political thought that stresses individual liberty. Liberals believe that society should not try to impose values or behaviours on individuals but should be tolerant of different lifestyles. A leading exponent of liberal thought was the 19th-century English philosopher John Stuart Mill, the author of the classic work On Liberty. Progressive Slovakia party. Michal Simecka was supposedly heard planning to rig the election, which was subsequently won by the pro-Russia Smer-SSD party.
According to a report by the country's interior ministryA government minister who deals with things that happen inside a country. , the fake had "a significant impact on the credibility of the elections".
These are worrying precedents in a year when half the world will vote in an election. Britain, the US, India and more than 60 other countries will be going to the polls.3
UnscrupulousHaving no morals, or behaving in an unfair or dishonest way. campaigners have long used fakes such as doctored photographs. The difference is that AI tools which can create far more convincing ones are now widely available. Someone's voice can be cloned from a recording just seconds long.
According to a professor of digital forensics, Hany Farid: "We are going to put in the hands of billions of people the ability to create fake audio images and video at the push of a button."
At present there is no law in the UK against the creation of deepfakes, though sharing pornographic ones has been made illegal.
As well as the potential damage done by deepfakes, there is the worry that their existence could undermine confidence in the political process. It allows politicians like Donald Trump to claim that things which are true are actually fake. "Because of this corrosiveCapable of destroying or eating away at something. Usually used to describe certain acids. attack on the veracityAccuracy or truthfulness. of information, we cease trusting anything," the former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland told the BBC.
Is democracy at risk?
Yes: Deepfakes are becoming so sophisticated that politicians can appear to say almost anything. A US survey found that at least a third of the time people were unable to identify fake news headlines.
No: Most people are alert to the danger of deepfakes and will not be fooled. The tech companies are also on the case: Microsoft's Bing Image Creator refused to generate fake images of Rishi Sunak.
Or... Most people have decided how they will vote far well before elections. Hoaxes that prevent them going to the polls are a bigger worry - for example, a bomb threat or a terrible traffic jam.
Labour - Britain's main left-of-centre political party.
Conservative party - A British political party. Members are known as Tories.
Deepfakes - This technique uses artificial intelligence to change the identity of a person in an image or a video - or to make it appear that a person is saying or doing something that they never said or did.
Liberal - Liberalism is a school of political thought that stresses individual liberty. Liberals believe that society should not try to impose values or behaviours on individuals but should be tolerant of different lifestyles. A leading exponent of liberal thought was the 19th-century English philosopher John Stuart Mill, the author of the classic work On Liberty.
Interior ministry - A government minister who deals with things that happen inside a country.
Unscrupulous - Having no morals, or behaving in an unfair or dishonest way.
Corrosive - Capable of destroying or eating away at something. Usually used to describe certain acids.
Veracity - Accuracy or truthfulness.
Experts fear year of Deepfake Elections

Glossary
Labour - Britain's main left-of-centre political party.
Conservative party - A British political party. Members are known as Tories.
Deepfakes - This technique uses artificial intelligence to change the identity of a person in an image or a video — or to make it appear that a person is saying or doing something that they never said or did.
Liberal - Liberalism is a school of political thought that stresses individual liberty. Liberals believe that society should not try to impose values or behaviours on individuals but should be tolerant of different lifestyles. A leading exponent of liberal thought was the 19th-century English philosopher John Stuart Mill, the author of the classic work On Liberty.
Interior ministry - A government minister who deals with things that happen inside a country.
Unscrupulous - Having no morals, or behaving in an unfair or dishonest way.
Corrosive - Capable of destroying or eating away at something. Usually used to describe certain acids.
Veracity - Accuracy or truthfulness.