Controversial deepfake Kari Lake video shows ease of AI disinformation

[LAUREN TAYLOR]

CAN YOU TELL WHICH OF THESE VIDEOS IS FAKE? IT MAY BE HARD TO TELL AT FIRST GLANCE. ON ONE SIDE OF THE SCREEN, WE SEE KARI LAKE, A WELL-KNOWN POLITICAL FIGURE AND FORMER ARIZONA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE. AND ON THE RIGHT SIDE IS A SCENE CREATED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE THAT MIMICS LAKE’S FEATURES AND VOICE. 

THE ARIZONA AGENDA, A NEWSLETTER THAT COVERS STATE POLITICS, CREATED A VIDEO USING AI TO MAKE IT SEEM LIKE LAKE WAS SAYING SOMETHING SHE DIDN’T ACTUALLY SAY. THIS VIDEO WAS MADE TO SHOW HOW ADVANCED AI TECHNOLOGY HAS BECOME AND HOW IT CAN CREATE REALISTIC VIDEOS THAT MIGHT CONFUSE PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT’S TRUE AND WHAT’S NOT.

STAN BARNES
PRESIDENT | COPPER STATE CONSULTING GROUP

“I think the Arizona Agenda, the media outlet that put that video into the public space, did everyone a favor.”

[LAUREN TAYLOR]

THE VIDEO SHOWS LAKE’S AI COUNTERPART APPEARING TO SUPPORT THE ARIZONA AGENDA AND TALKING ABOUT THE IMPACT OF AI ON FUTURE ELECTIONS.THE GOAL OF MAKING THE VIDEO, ACCORDING TO ITS CREATORS, WAS TO DEMONSTRATE HOW EASY IT IS TO MAKE FAKE CONTENT WITH AI AND TO HIGHLIGHT THE CHALLENGES THIS BRINGS, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO TELLING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REAL AND FAKE VIDEOS AROUND IMPORTANT EVENTS LIKE ELECTIONS.

UNDERSTANDING HOW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CREATES THESE FAKE VIDEOS CAN HELP YOU NOTICE THE SMALL DETAILS, JUST TAKE IT FROM DEEPFAKE LAKE.

DEEPFAKE KARI LAKE

“Now that you know this is a deep fake, you’re probably catching a bunch of little inconsistencies that you can’t quite put your finger on. This is a less refined version of me, to help illustrate. My voice is pretty good, right? But my lips don’t quite sync up, my cadence isn’t natural, my skin is a little too smooth, and around the boundaries of my face, you can almost see the little glitches in the Matrix.”

[LAUREN TAYLOR]

THE ARIZONA AGENDA DIDN’T JUST CREATE A DEEPFAKE; THEY ALSO MADE A GUIDE TO HELP PEOPLE SPOT FAKE AI CONTENT SHOWING HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO BE AWARE OF THE DANGERS AS AI TECHNOLOGY BECOMES MORE ACCESSIBLE

LAKE’S TEAM ASKED FOR IT TO BE REMOVED. THEY SAY IT WAS CREATED WITHOUT HER PERMISSION AND USED TO MAKE MONEY. THEY EVEN THREATENED TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION IF THE VIDEO WASN’T TAKEN DOWN. IN RESPONSE, THE ARIZONA AGENDA STRESSED THAT THEIR GOAL WAS TO EDUCATE AND ENGAGE PEOPLE IN A RESPONSIBLE WAY.