China announced its plans to control the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology for the verification of users' identities. On Friday, Jan. 28, the authorities proposed draft rules to crack down the spread of "deep fakes" on several platforms.
The regulator also wanted to promote Chinese socialist values as part of trimming down technologies that could disrupt cyberspace.
China on Deepfake Crackdown
According to a report by South China Morning Post, the companies that rely on deepfake as a service should undergo strict verification. This process would involve confirming the identities of the people.
After passing this test, they could get a green light to use their products. Moreover, the Chinese authorities also expected that these corporations would stick to promoting "social morality and ethics."
Amid Beijing's decision to continue punishing exploitative technologies to consumers, the officials created these regulations as part of its proposal. In addition, China will also tackle algorithm control to bring more recommendations to every user.
To clarify, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CA) noted in its documents that the algorithms that generate pictures, clips, audios, and more would further undergo evaluation.
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Deepfake Companies Should Ask For User's Consent
While deepfakes are amazing in their own way, they are still alarming to many considering their potential to imitate the actual face of a person. In some cases, this could result in mistaken identity and be used to carry out malicious plans such as spreading misinformation.
"Where a deep synthesis service provider provides significant editing functions for biometric information such as face and human voice, it shall prompt the (provider) to notify and obtain the individual consent of the subject whose personal information is being edited," the Article 12 in the draft reads, per Strait Times.
With that, those first-time violators who won't follow the rules will receive a fine of 10,000 yuan ($1,600) to 100,000 yuan ($16,000). For the succeeding sanctions, the deepfake providers might be punished with both criminal and civil prosecutions.
In order to bar deepfakes from being used for misinformation, there would be a dedicated complaints system. As such, the decision will be up to the app stores if they will suspend the deepfake technology providers.
With regards to the draft rules, it was mentioned there that criminals could use deep synthesis services for publishing and disseminating illegal information. This also covered degrading a person's reputation and impersonating an identity.
How to Identity Deepfake Videos Through Subject's Eyes
In an interesting article from Tech Times, experts shared how to spot deepfakes in some clips effectively. Since this is a controversial matter to be discussed, it's better if people know to recognize them better.
According to the researchers, you can distinguish the deepfakes from the real ones through their eyes. Just look closer at their corneas and search for the lights in that region.
Indeed, deepfakes have enhanced the power of AI in a few tweaks. While it's interesting to study how technology works, people should not forget that there's always a risk for every creation.
Meanwhile, another group of scientists said that high-level AI is hard to control. They believed that superintelligence can outperform humans in their daily tasks.
Read Also: Bank Robbers Used Deepfake Voice for $35 Million Heist | AI-Enhanced Voice Simulation Used
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joseph Henry