With a rapid increase in the use of deepfake in the recent time, it has become a topic of concern. Deepfake is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) technology that is being used to create or manipulate audio-visual content, often involving the superimposition of existing images or videos onto other images or videos. It has recently gained prominence due to the ability of deep learning models to generate highly convincing and realistic fake content.
Recently Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged the misuse of AI for creating deepfakes after he saw a morphed video of himself doing Garba. “There is a challenge arising because of Artificial Intelligence and deepFake…a big section of our country has no parallel option for verification…people often end up believing in deepfakes and this will go into a direction of a big challenge…we need to educate people with our programmes about Artificial Intelligence and deepfakes, how it works, what it can do, what all challenges it can bring and whatever can be made out if it…I even saw a video of me doing ‘Garba’..,” he said as quoted by ANI.
Can deepfake impact fintech and overall economy?
Deepake can have a severe impact on both- fintech and the economy. It could potentially be used in fraudulent activities within the fintech sector. For example, scammers might use deepfake technology to impersonate individuals in video calls or create realistic audio messages for phishing attacks. It can also pose a risk to identity verification systems. If facial recognition or biometric authentication systems are not robust enough to detect deepfake attempts, there could be instances of unauthorized access to financial accounts.
Deepfakes have the potential to damage the reputation of individuals and organizations in the fintech and financial sectors. Fake videos or audio clips that misrepresent key figures or institutions could lead to a loss of trust.
In the broader economic context, deepfakes could be used to manipulate financial markets by creating fake news or altering videos of key figures in the financial industry. False information could lead to market volatility and impact investment decisions. The rise of deepfakes may necessitate regulatory adjustments to ensure the security and integrity of financial transactions.
According to a report by iProov titled ‘Deepfakes: The Threat to Financial Services’ the services which are at great risk on arranging descendingly are the payment and transfer sector, personal banking, social media, online shopping, among others.
To avoid any kind of losses caused by deepfakes, the need for the fintech companies, regulators, and cybersecurity professionals is to remain vigilant, invest in robust authentication measures, and develop effective strategies for detecting and mitigating the risks posed by deepfake technology.