Deepfakes: AI-enhanced technologies that make it easier to manipulate or fake real peoples' voices, faces and actions as well as dismiss any real video or audio as fake. They have become a critical concern for celebrities, and for many ordinary women worldwide, and raise mis/disinformation threats as they become easier to deploy. They have also been an example of pre-emptive and often misdirected technology hype - focusing on hypothetical political scenarios, rather than real use cases against women and uses in satire and malicious content gaslighting as satire. WITNESS has led the first global workshops to assess and prioritize threats and solutions http://wit.to/Synthetic-Media-Deepfakes and ensure they are not Silicon Valley, Brussels or DC-driven as well as prioritize contextualized questions of access and equity in solutions. We’ll discuss these learnings and what to do next as deepfakes progress and ‘improve’.
Incorporate MozFest participants into ongoing advocacy and solution-building that looks at key questions around deepfakes (what are real threats, how do solutions get built that prioritize global civil society and media, and contextualize this AI in local context of existing tech). Simultaneously we want to counter the hype cycle around deepfakes and re-center real threats - so that real concerns don't get lost in the backlash against deepfakes, and we re-center what to focus efforts on.
We're hoping that many efforts and discussions will continue after Mozfest. Share any ideas you already have for how to continue the work from your session.:WITNESS has recently launched a newsletter to keep audiences informed about developments in AI and misinformation from a human rights perspective. We would invite all attendees to subscribe to stay updated on our work, and also to contact WITNESS through email or social media with further thoughts and reflections. For those with a key interest in collaborating further we continue to build out regional advocacy and to try to integrate additional key voices into company-focused advocacy.
How will you deal with varying numbers of participants in your session?:WITNESS has many years of experiences facilitating online and offline workshops, and our presenters will be able to adapt to high or low turnout on the day. We can also add additional facilitators since we've had multiple people working on this - if there's high turnout predicted. A lower number of participants would allow for more interactive discussion at all points of the session, whereas with high numbers of participants, the session will take the format of an initial presentation section followed by audience Q&A.
Program Director of WITNESS which helps people use video and technology for human rights. He currently focuses on how emerging technologies like AI intersect with disinformation and media manipulation.
Human Rights Lawyer and Africa Program Manager at WITNESS