AI deep fakes: It could happen to you

And there it goes, the danger of artificial intelligence or AI staring us right in the face.

CNN Philippines’ Ruth Cabal has found herself in a Black Mirror-like episode of sorts. In case you’re not familiar, Black Mirror is Netflix’s eerie tech-dystopian version of the 80s’ Twilight Zone which will leave you sleepless because it is horrifying and creepy. In its latest season, Black Mirror tackles the concerns of the new world – from AI to crypto to data breaches.

You see Ruth, my fellow journalist, friend and MA Journalism classmate at the Ateneo, just got AI’d. I don’t even know if such a term exists but there’s really no other way to put it.

A manipulated video of her appeared on Facebook recently. In the clip, which has CNN Philippines’ on-screen graphic, she is supposedly reporting on a new financial platform where Filipinos can make money. An investment of P14,000 would earn P100,000 to P150,000, Ruth supposedly says in the video.

But let’s get this straight. In the video is Ruth, the real Ruth Cabal, my friend and colleague, in her trademark on-cam chic look. But the truth ends there. The voice and everything she was supposedly saying, however, are deep fake.

She found out about it because friends sent her the video and it shocked her to see her “clone,” as any of us would be. It’s disturbing to say the least.

Ruth shared with me her post on the issue.

“We are still studying what else to do because as of today, it hasn’t been taken down. The only thing we can do now is to report it to Facebook. Our existing cybercrime laws in the Philippines are not clear about their application to AI. What’s certain, as many of you have pointed out, is that there has to be some kind of regulation about the use of AI. We can’t deny that there are a lot of advantages but also like any other new technology, it is prone to abuse as long as there are no clear-cut rules for its use. This particular Facebook account also is from abroad, so there’s the issue as to how the laws or regulations can cross borders.”

Ruth laments the fact that it’s a scary and disturbing reality that journalists are facing today.

Now, journalists can be made to appear saying anything about this or