CITRIS principal investigator and UC Berkeley professor Hany Farid, who received a 2020 CITRIS COVID-19 Seed Award to survey and analyze the spread of misinformation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, noted the risks that come with a rise in disinformation with the advent of images and videos created and edited by artificial intelligence (AI).
In reference to the AI tool DALL-E, which produces hyperrealistic art or photographs based on a typed description, Farid told NPR All Things Considered that “this could be disinformation on steroids.”
Farid expressed similar concerns to The Washington Post in regard to video deepfakes, which AI company Metaphysic used to compete in NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.” He cited the dangers that arise when video, “the last frontier of verification online,” can no longer be trusted.