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Sushil Modi in Rajya Sabha raises concern over use of AI, deep fakes
Citing an example of a viral deep fake video showing the Prime Minister doing Garba, the Bihar MP said that AI deep fakes can be “heavily misused during election time”
New Delhi: Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sushil Kumar Modi raised concerns about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deep fake videos and urged the government to introduce regulations concerning the misuse of AI.
Speaking during the discussion of non-legislative matters in Rajya Sabha, he said, “Earlier, fake news was prevalent, but now deep fake videos and synthetic videos are posing a threat to democracy.”
Citing an example of a viral deep fake video showing the Prime Minister doing garba (a traditional dance), the Bihar MP said that AI deep fakes can be “heavily misused during election time”.
Also Read: IT Ministry summons social media companies over deepfakes
“Everyone thought that the PM was actually doing garba and millions spread the video…the PM had to deny this himself,” Modi said, adding, that this is promoting disinformation and people have no way to verify it.
Although the video initially sent alarm bells, it was later found that it was not a deep fake, but a Mumbai-based businessman, Vikas Mahante, doing the garba in a viral video. Taking to social media, Mahante, who is PM Modi’s doppelganger, clarified that it was not a deepfake.
The BJP leader also referred to the recent deep fake video featuring Bollywood actress Rashmika Mandanna and said that women are the biggest targets of such videos.
A video featuring Mandana went viral last month and sparked discussions on online safety. The video showed a woman dressed in a black dress inside an elevator and her face was edited to resemble Mandanna.
Modi further cited examples of digitally altered videos showing Bollywood actors and cricketers promoting products and betting applications as well.
“This is a new threat to democracy, and I urge the government to come out with regulations to tackle this,” Modi said.
Deep fake videos are synthetic media created using AI, which generates convincing-looking fake images, videos or audio not usually discernible to someone not trained in spotting them.
Earlier in November, the Prime Minister had also expressed concerns over the misuse of technology and AI to create deep fakes.
“A new crisis is emerging due to deepfakes produced through artificial intelligence. There is a very big section of society which does not have a parallel verification system… This (deep fake) will take us to grave danger and has the potential to spread the fire of dissatisfaction,” the PM had said.
After the PM expressed concern, the Union electronics and information technology ministry (MeitY) had on November 23 summoned officials from major social media companies for a meeting on “Nuisances of deep fake content on Social Media Platform”.
