AI-powered disinformation is spreading — is Canada ready for the political impact?
By Catharine Tunney
Just days before Slovakia’s national election last fall, a mysterious voice recording began spreading a lie online.
The manipulated file made it sound like Michal Simecka, leader of the Progressive Slovakia party, was discussing buying votes with a local journalist. But the conversation never happened; the file was later debunked as a “deepfake” hoax...
“I don't think anybody is really ready,” said Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California-Berkeley specializing in digital forensics.
Farid said he sees two main threats emerging from the collision of generative AI content and politics. The first is its effect on politicians — on their ability to deny reality...
Hany Farid is a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences and the School of Information at UC Berkeley. He specializes in digital forensics.
