More than 300 experts from various fields such as technology, artificial intelligence (AI), digital ethics, and child safety have united to sign an open letter, urging governments to take immediate action against deepfakes. The letter, titled “Disrupting the Deepfake Supply Chain,” was released on February 21 and calls on governments, policymakers, and political leaders to impose obligations within the supply chain to combat the proliferation of deepfakes.
The letter outlines three key actions. Firstly, it advocates for the complete criminalization of deepfake child pornography, even if the children involved are fictional. Secondly, it urges for criminal penalties to be imposed on individuals who knowingly create or facilitate the spread of harmful deepfakes. Additionally, it calls for software developers and distributors to ensure that their media products do not generate harmful deepfakes, with penalties in place if their measures are inadequate.
Prominent figures who have signed the letter include Andrew Yang, a politician and supporter of cryptocurrency, Steven Pinker, a cognitive psychologist, and two former presidents of Estonia. The signatories also include intellectuals from various countries such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, and China.
Andrew Critch, an AI researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, and the lead author of the letter, explained that they created the letter to allow the global public to demonstrate their support for immediate actions to combat deepfakes.
Joy Buolamwini, the founder of the Algorithmic Justice League and author of “Unmasking AI,” emphasized the need for “biometric rights” and stressed the importance of imposing severe consequences for egregious abuses of AI.
The creation and dissemination of the letter involved other organizations such as the Machine Intelligence and Normative Theory Lab and the Center for AI Safety.
In the United States, current legislation does not adequately address and prohibit the production and dissemination of deepfakes. However, recent events, such as the circulation of viral deepfakes featuring pop singer Taylor Swift, have prompted regulators to take faster action. Lawmakers in the U.S. have started urging for legislation that criminalizes the production of deepfake images. Furthermore, the use of AI-generated voices in scam robocalls, including a deepfake using the likeness of President Joe Biden, led to a ban by the U.S. government. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has also proposed updates to regulations to prevent AI from impersonating businesses or government agencies for consumer protection purposes.
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