(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Federal law enforcement warned that extortion via artificial-intelligence-generated pornographic content, also known as, “deepfake sextortion,” increased drastically since April.
According to Breitbart, the FBI issued the warning after a noticeable increase in blackmailing incidents.
Criminals take photos—often found on social media—and manipulate the victim’s image into explicit content.
“The photos are then sent directly to the victims by malicious actors for sextortion or harassment,” an FBI spokesperson said. “Once circulated, victims can face significant challenges in preventing the continual sharing of the manipulated content or removal from the internet.”
Blackmailers use the extortion scheme to demand money—or sometimes genuine explicit photos—from the victim.
Though this technology is not new, the FBI recommended that users practice caution when posting pictures of themselves and others.
In 2017, Reddit users created explicit content of female celebrities using deepfake technology. The technology has made several strides in the last few years, and also has become more widely available to the public.
Despite concern from its users and law enforcement across the globe, tech companies have continued to profit off the technology.
Facebook previously allowed suggestive deepfake ads to run on its platform featuring celebrities Emma Watson and Scarlett Johansson.
Legislators on both sides of the political aisle called for regulation around artificial intelligence, particularly after receiving a letter from Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
“AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society,” the letter read. “[They] should be planned for and managed with commensurate care. … Unfortunately, this level of planning and management is not happening.”
President Joe Biden reacted to the bipartisan concern by putting Vice President Kamala Harris in charge of the matter. She has not made any public moves outside of hosting a meeting with several AI CEOs.
Some argued that AI technology could help many, particularly Harris, who is often in desperate need of a speech writer.
Someone has used AI to digitally generate a Kamala Harris speech, and it’s almost indistinguishable from the real thing. pic.twitter.com/L2w9AasCwz
— The TV Grump (@TheTVGrump) May 1, 2023
