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Diahuebs, 5 October 2023 AWEMainta TECHNOLOGY 37

Addressing the Menace of AI Deepfakes:

Are Social Media Platforms Ready? Asks MrBeast

“ARE Social Media Platforms Prepared
to Combat the Rise of AI Deepfakes?”
Asks Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast) on
X, formerly Twitter. “This is a serious

issue.” Deepfakes are AI-generated
images that replicate real individuals,
and these images can appear highly
convincing, having even led to legal

cases. In the Netherlands, a 39-year-
old man is currently on trial for creating
fake pornography using deepfake
images of presenter Welmoed Sijtsma.

Highly Convincing
MrBeast gained fame through his
YouTube videos in which he gives away

cars, houses, and cash prizes. The fact
that the deepfake video seems to offer
a similar service makes it even more
convincing, as reported by the BBC.

The TikTok account where the video
was shared has since been removed
from the platform.
Earlier this week, Tom Hanks posted

a warning on his social media profiles
about a deepfake advertisement for
dental insurance. “I have nothing to do
with this,” he wrote alongside a photo

of himself.

The use of famous individuals in deep-
fake videos has been ongoing for some

time. In March of last year, a video of
Ukrainian President Zelensky surren-
dering to the Russians was circulated
on Facebook. The video was ulti- ficial intelligence. During a summit They highlighted the importance of

mately removed by Facebook’s parent in Japan in May of this year, the G7 maintaining an “open and enabling
company, Meta. ministers, representing seven wealthy environment” for technology.
nations including the United States
Warnings and Germany, issued a joint state- The rules should focus on intellec-

Increasingly, tech giants and politi- ment emphasizing the need for rules tual property rights, transparency, and
cians are calling for regulation of arti- governing AI development. combating disinformation.