DEEPFAKES (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Sci & Tech)

Context: Prime Minister of India recently flagged the dangers of ‘deepfakes’ and said the developers of artificial intelligence should consider tagging their products to caution people about AI-enabled deception.

Deepfakes

• About: Deepfakes refer to synthetic media, which includes videos, images, or audio recordings generated and altered using advanced artificial intelligence techniques, particularly deep learning algorithms.
• Working: The term 'deepfake' combines 'deep learning' and 'fake.’ It involves:

o The use of deep neural networks that can learn and replicate patterns from extensive datasets.

o It employs a branch of artificial intelligence where if a computer is fed enough data, it can generate fakes which behave much like a real person.

• Regulation:

o India does not have specific laws or regulations that ban or regulate the use of deepfake technology.

o Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act (2000) related to defamation and publishing explicit material is applied in cases of deepfakes.

o India’s IT Rules, 2021 require that all content reported to be fake or produced using deep fake be taken down by intermediary platforms within 36 hours.