These are the AI risks we should be focusing on Posted on : Apr 03 - 2021

Since the dawn of the computer age, humans have viewed the approach of artificial intelligence (AI) with some degree of apprehension. Popular AI depictions often involve killer robots or all-knowing, all-seeing systems bent on destroying the human race. These sentiments have similarly pervaded the news media, which tends to greet breakthroughs in AI with more alarm or hype than measured analysis. In reality, the true concern should be whether these overly-dramatized, dystopian visions pull our attention away from the more nuanced — yet equally dangerous — risks posed by the misuse of AI applications that are already available or being developed today.

AI permeates our everyday lives, influencing which media we consume, what we buy, where and how we work, and more. AI technologies are sure to continue disrupting our world, from automating routine office tasks to solving urgent challenges like climate change and hunger. But as incidents such as wrongful arrests in the U.S. and the mass surveillance of China’s Uighur population demonstrate, we are also already seeing some negative impacts stemming from AI. Focused on pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, companies, governments, AI practitioners, and data scientists sometimes fail to see how their breakthroughs could cause social problems until it’s too late.

Therefore, the time to be more intentional about how we use and develop AI is now. We need to integrate ethical and social impact considerations into the development process from the beginning, rather than grappling with these concerns after the fact. And most importantly, we need to recognize that even seemingly-benign algorithms and models can be used in negative ways. We’re a long way from Terminator-like AI threats — and that day may never come — but there is work happening today that merits equally serious consideration.

How deepfakes can sow doubt and discord

Deepfakes are realistic-appearing artificial images, audio, and videos, typically created using machine learning methods. The technology to produce such “synthetic” media is advancing at breakneck speed, with sophisticated tools now freely and readily accessible, even to non-experts. Malicious actors already deploy such content to ruin reputations and commit fraud-based crimes, and it’s not difficult to imagine other injurious use cases.

Deepfakes create a twofold danger: that the fake content will fool viewers into believing fabricated statements or events are real, and that their rising prevalence will undermine the public’s confidence in trusted sources of information. And while detection tools exist today, deepfake creators have shown they can learn from these defenses and quickly adapt. There are no easy solutions in this high-stakes game of cat and mouse. Even unsophisticated fake content can cause substantial damage, given the psychological power of confirmation bias and social media’s ability to rapidly disseminate fraudulent information.

Deepfakes are just one example of AI technology that can have subtly insidious impacts on society. They showcase how important it is to think through potential consequences and harm-mitigation strategies from the outset of AI development. View More