In recent years, the emergence of Artificial Intelligence has birthed a lot of innovations, among them is Deepfake. This technology is widely used in the USA, Europe and Asia, but there are dangers associated with it that have raised a lot of serious concerns.

     According to Wikipedia; Deepfakes are images, videos, or audio that have been edited or generated using artificial intelligence, AI-based tools or audio-video editing software. They may depict fictional people, manipulate their movements and speech to form a synthetic media combined with various media elements through the use of Artificial Intelligence. 

     Although Deepfakes can be useful for education, entertainment and training , it is increasingly being used for harmful purposes. The 2 major dangers of Deepfake include:

1. Misinformation & Fake news: With the rise of Deepfake,  it has undermined one of the instincts of human beings: believing what we see and hear. Through the spread of manipulation of images and voices of people, Deepfake has been used to spread false information, political falsehoods, distort elections and make a fake interview go viral in a few seconds.
2. Fraud & Identity Theft: Deepfake has also been used to damage people's identity through manipulation and voice cloning. Thereby, leaving the victim's reputation marred. Although, it can be rectified by proper clarification but such videos would have gone viral even before it's corrected.

     Deepfake technology demonstrates the advancement of technology and the power of Artificial Intelligence, it also poses many risks to the society at large. If appropriate measures aren't put in place to control it, it would incur serious damages to unsuspecting individuals, institutions and government. Therefore, technology companies, government and users should ensure it is used responsibly. 

Dr. Olunifesi Suraj