January 21, 2022
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Kris Tyte & Sean Snodgrass
Deep Fakes & The Future of Reality
In this episode of Positively Pedestrian, we discuss the cultural, social, and individual implications of how Deep Fake and related technologies threaten reality itself. Virtual, augmented, mixed, and other emerging realities may soon be capable of creating a blurred line between digital and analog reality and what that might mean for society. We also look at the USA government as a Kleptocracy, or otherwise a collection of industrial complexes that creates financial socialism for the ultra-wealthy and brutal free-market capitalism for everyone else. Perhaps it is time for a long-needed counterculture to emerge to help transition us toward a human industrial complex, one that puts people over profit and helps transition government power away from the Kleptocrats and back to We The People.
Follow Up Notes
Third episode recorded while walking in winter conditions, discussing the grim future of reality in an age of deepfakes and manipulated media.
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MIT's recreation of the speech Nixon would have given if the Apollo 11 mission had failed, demonstrating early deepfake technology capabilities.
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Discussion of how CGI technology used to complete films after actors' deaths (like in The Crow) is becoming mainstream and accessible to everyday users.
Quotable
“You can just say, you know, hey, Alexa, or you know, hey, Siri, hey, Google, make me a video of that guy right there, but make him look like Tom Cruise.
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Prediction of how simple deepfake technology will become, available through voice commands on everyday devices.
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Discussion of potential AR applications like filtering out homeless people or "beautifying" everyone in your field of view, creating a shallow, artificial perception of reality.
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Proposed solution using GPG-style key signing parties for video authentication, where certified recording crews and subjects verify content authenticity.
Quotable
“Something you are, something you have and something you know. So a biometric component, right? Combined with a key card, some type of authenticating object.
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Three-factor authentication approach for verifying content authenticity in a deepfake-saturated world.
Follow Up Notes
Discussion of potential military/intelligence use of deepfake technology to create false statements from foreign leaders, undermining diplomatic relations.
Quotable
“This may help dilute the power of propaganda that we've had a problem with for hundreds of years.
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Paradoxical effect where widespread deepfakes might actually reduce the impact of propaganda by creating universal skepticism.
Follow Up Notes
Concept where abundance of fake content allows real perpetrators to claim "that's just a deepfake" when caught in genuine wrongdoing.
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Diagram illustrating the "Do You Need AI?" checklist, helping users determine if AI tools are appropriate for their needs.
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Prediction that celebrities and content creators will embrace deepfake technology for entertainment, similar to how Photoshop became mainstream.
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Proposed countermeasure using multiple deepfake detection algorithms working in concert, creating an arms race between creation and detection technology.
Quotable
“If a deepfake is good enough to bypass it, it now has additional credibility as it gets brought forward.
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Dangerous feedback loop where deepfakes that pass detection filters gain enhanced believability.
Follow Up Notes
Concern that celebrities might oversaturate the market with authenticated content, ultimately devaluing the authentication system itself.
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Diagram illustrating the "Tech Buzzword Trap" warning sign, helping users recognize and avoid overhyped AI tools.
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Discussion of how comprehensive authentication systems might completely erode privacy through required chain of custody documentation.
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Discussion of how urban legends like the "kidney theft" story demonstrate humanity's susceptibility to compelling but false narratives.
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Observation that modern social media fear-mongering represents the digital evolution of traditional chain letters.
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Recognition that deepfake technology will exponentially increase the volume and sophistication of misinformation beyond current levels.
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Research showing Facebook's dominance as a news source, relevant to discussion of platform-driven misinformation.
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Observation that much misinformation spreads through private messages, making it invisible to public detection and fact-checking.
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Real-world example of how scammers target compassionate, less tech-savvy individuals with fake charity appeals.
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Analysis of how emotional and financial investment in false narratives creates psychological barriers to accepting correction.
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Discussion of congressional efforts to penalize certain types of deepfakes, particularly revenge porn and child exploitation material.
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Example of how compelling but false content can create self-reinforcing belief systems, with people consuming hundreds of videos supporting false narratives.
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Concern that widespread fake content will create default assumption that all content is potentially false, undermining trust in genuine information.
Quotable
“You doing your due diligence... you care about their sense of reality and you see them being victimized by misinformation.
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The social cost of being a truth-teller in a world saturated with misinformation.
Follow Up Notes
Analysis of how maintaining accurate information requires increasing investment of time, energy, and social capital as misinformation proliferates.
Quotable
“We keep using technology to solve the problems created by technology.
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Observation about the recursive nature of technological solutions creating new problems requiring more technological solutions.
Follow Up Notes
Proposed analog solution: simply tune out information streams known to contain high percentages of misinformation.
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Data on Fox News being the most-watched cable news network, relevant to discussion of misinformation reach.
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Hypothetical scenario exploring what absolute power could do to combat misinformation while preserving human flourishing.
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Philosophical preference for empowering individuals with tools rather than restricting information access, despite the challenges this creates.
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Example of institutional decision-making inconsistency: going virtual for two weeks, then returning to in-person despite worsening conditions.
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Conclusion that misinformation will continue increasing as production costs decrease and capabilities expand.
Quotable
“We need to create a counter culture of like, shut it off mentality, like create a new culture of like getting away from the content.
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Proposed solution of creating cultural movements that reject information consumption in favor of other activities.
Follow Up Notes
Recognition that there is no single solution to misinformation - requires combination of education, technology, cultural change, and individual responsibility.
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Problem that teaching all necessary skills for navigating modern information landscape would leave no time for traditional education.
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Observation that modern teenagers primarily practice consumption rather than developing productive skills.
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Recognition that combating misinformation requires intensive parental involvement and guidance, making it effectively an occupation.
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Argument that current generation faces more "bear traps" (dangers and manipulations) than previous generations.
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Reference to survey showing high school seniors wishing they hadn't been exposed to pornography and drugs, recognizing negative impact on their development.
Quotable
“Create a turn it off culture... use your brain, but you're also using the technology that is to combat the different.
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Final recommendation combining cultural change with technological solutions to address misinformation challenge.
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