Artificial Intelligence, also known as A.I., is the tool of tomorrow. It can help develop writing prompts, make up stories to go with those prompts and even draw pictures in seconds that would take a human months to create. It can help students write essays and brainstorm ideas, and one of my personal favorites uses is creating song parodies.
A.I. has come such a long way. It is such a genius creation that one would think it would be used for good. Unfortunately, that is not the case for high school students in Westfield, New Jersey.
Who knows who these pictures might have been shared with and the lives that could be ruined by using deepfake. There are a lot of dangers within A.I. that I believe are not being talked about as much as they should.
When you hear the story of a male high school student manipulating the faces of his female classmates into deepfake nude pictures, you would probably think it sounds dystopian. You would more than likely think it wasn’t fair for the students who were victimized, and you’d be right.
14-year-old Francesca Mani was one of these victims. She is “one of more than 30 girls who were victimized in the incident,” according to Global News. The perpetrator also shared the images in a group chat, allowing them to spread. The students have shared their thoughts, including Mani, who said, “so many girls don’t feel comfortable knowing that he’s walking our hallways,” a very valid reaction.
People who go to the school may know who this person is, but there has been no administrative or police action taken against this behavior, which is absolutely disgusting. He should not be getting away with this, nor should anyone involved in the group chat. This student, or students, could still be walking around, discreetly taking pictures of classmates.
Currently, the school is not providing information about how many students were involved. I understand if they are doing so for privacy reasons, but I wish they would at least take action against the person who did this. Not being reprimanded for creating pornographic images without consent is sexual harassment, and no one deserves to have to experience that.
The pictures could not only be used to humiliate but they could also be seen by future employers. Who knows who these pictures might have been shared with and the lives that could be ruined by using deepfake. There are a lot of dangers within A.I. that I believe are not being talked about as much as they should. This instance is one of them.
Deepfake has also been used to impersonate the voices of celebrities, one of the victims of which has been Scarlett Johansson, who “found out her voice and face had been used to promote an artificial intelligence app online without her consent,” as reported by NPR.
These instances will most likely not be the end of people being victimized by A.I., but I certainly hope people are held accountable. The people responsible for creating fake nude pictures and whoever uses A.I. to harm people need to be stopped so that A.I. can be used for good.
cgriffi5@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of Andrea Piacquadio, Pexels
