Disinformation in Elections: The Deepfake Challenge

Our new Thursday episodes of Decoder are all about deep dives into big topics in the news, and this week we’re continuing our mini-series on one of the biggest topics of all: generative AI. Last week, we took a look at the wave of copyright lawsuits that might eventually grind this whole industry to a halt. Those are basically a coin flip — and the outcomes are off in the distance, as those cases wind their way through the legal system. 

A bigger problem right now is that AI systems are really good at making just believable enough fake images and audio — and with tools like OpenAI’s new Sora, maybe video soon, too. And of course, it’s once again a presidential election year here in the US. So today, Verge policy editor Adi Robertson joins the show to discuss how AI might supercharge disinformation and lies in an election that’s already as contentious as any in our lifetimes — and what might be done about it.

Links: 

• How the Mueller report indicts social networks
• Twitter permanently bans Trump
• Meta allows Trump back on Facebook and Instagram
• No Fakes Act wants to protect actors and singers from unauthorized AI replicas
• White House calls for legislation to stop Taylor Swift AI fakes
• Watermarks aren’t the silver bullet for AI misinformation
• AI Drake just set an impossible legal trap for Google
• Barack Obama on AI, free speech, and the future of the internet
• 
  

Credits:

Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Today’s episode was produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and was edited by Callie Wright.

The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

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