Political deepfakes top the list of malicious AI users.

Research by Google DeepMind indicates that creating fake human images, videos , and audio is nearly twice as common as creating misinformation using tools like AI chatbots.

Analysis reveals that the most common goal of actors abusing synthetic AI is to shape or influence public opinion. This accounts for 27% of usage, raising concerns about how deepfakes could affect elections globally this year.

A fake artwork depicting British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appeared on TikTok and Instagram ahead of the general election. Photo: AFP

Deepfakes of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as well as other global leaders, have appeared on TikTok, X, and Instagram in recent months. British voters will go to the polls next week in the general election.

There are concerns that, despite social media platforms' efforts to label or remove such content, audiences may not recognize it as fake and its dissemination could influence voters.

Ardi Janjeva, a research associate at the Alan Turing Institute, called the paper's findings "particularly relevant," suggesting that AI-generated public information could "distort our common understanding of socio -political reality."

"Even if we are not certain about the impact of deepfakes on voting behavior, this distortion may be difficult to detect in the short term and poses a long-term risk to democracy," Janjeva added.

"There have been a lot of concerns surrounding the rather sophisticated cyberattacks that these tools can create," said researcher Nahema Marchal, lead author of the study at Google DeepMind.

Researchers at Google DeepMind and Jigsaw analyzed approximately 200 instances of AI misuse from January 2023 to March 2024, sourced from social media platforms X and Reddit, as well as online blogs and media reports on misuse.

The second most common motivation behind the abuse is making money, including creating nude images of real people or using AI to generate various types of content, such as fake news articles. Most situations utilize readily accessible tools that "require minimal technical expertise," meaning many bad actors can creatively misuse AI.

Ngoc Anh (according to FT)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nghien-cuu-deepfake-chinh-tri-dung-dau-trong-danh-list-su-dung-ai-doc-hai-post300851.html