Facebook and Microsoft are joining forces with a few other organizations to launch a contest for increased deepfake video detection, according to a recent Reuters report.
The report says Facebook is spending $10 million on the “Deepfake Detection Challenge,” an initiative to commission researchers to make realistic deepfake videos which will then be used to test detection efforts.
These videos will feature paid actors with no actual user data used in production, says the Reuters report.
Wait, what are deepfakes, again?
This topic has taken on great meaning surrounding U.S. elections. Essentially, deepfake videos can be defined as ones which use AI to make realistic imagery where a person appears to say or do something they did not.
While there has not been a well-crafted deepfake video with major political consequences in the United States, the potential for manipulated video to cause turmoil was recently demonstrated by a “cheapfake” clip of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, manually slowed down to make her speech seem slurred. — Reuters
Reuters reports that online deepfake creators have uploaded YouTube tutorials for deepfake video production and charging money for an AI-powered President Trump to “speak” a given script.
Facebook does not currently have a policy surrounding the presence of these fakes or deepfake video detection.
Related: Are You Ready for the Access Control AI Revolution? Because It’s Coming
