Taylor Swift’s Deepfake Photos Sparks New Call for AI Regulation

Deepfake but convincing explicit photos of pop singer Taylor Swift have surfaced on the internet, further underscoring the need for AI regulation.

Urgent Need for AI Regulation Arises

The unsavory images of Taylor Swift have been viewed multiple times on X and Telegram, prompting an outcry from politicians in the United States. 

One particular picture of the pop artist was allegedly viewed up to 47 million times. To this end, these politicians are requesting new laws that would address acts like this. The politicians are asking that such acts be criminalized. Specifically, U.S. Representative Joe Morelle regarded the spread of the pictures as “appalling”.

Consequently, X has promised to act immediately and is now “actively removing” the images and taking “appropriate actions” against the accounts that spread them. For now, the team behind X is closely monitoring the situation to avoid further violation of celebrities’ privacy. X will also ensure that the disturbing content is removed. 

Often, such deepfake pictures are created using Artificial Intelligence tools that can effectively manipulate body parts and even gestures. According to a study conducted in 2023, it was discovered that there had been a significant increase in the rate of creation of doctored images. 

Precisely, there was a 550% increase between 2019 and 2023, triggered by the advent of AI. Looking at this figure and the driver behind it, several governments are becoming very concerned about AI regulation.

More Deepfake Images on the Rampage

In December, a deepfake video featuring Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse made its way to YouTube. 

Garlinghouse was seen urging XRP holders to send their coins for a promised doubling. Meanwhile, this was only a classic ploy introduced by fraudsters to cheat users out of their assets. But unlike X which has agreed to tackle the problem by pulling down the images, Google refused to remove the video at the time, and this frustrated the community greatly. 

About a week later, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong informed the public about a deepfake video of him endorsing a non-existent crypto investment platform allegedly envisioned by entrepreneur Elon Musk. 

All of these events have prompted governments to start working on AI regulation. U.S. President Biden is actively working on the matter and has ordered certain agencies to customize standards for testing AI encompassing cybersecurity, nuclear, and radiological risks, among many others.

The European Union is also on top of its game with numerous agencies coming together to issue a robust AI regulatory framework.