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It will soon be impossible to tell what is real and what is fake. Recent advances in AI mean that by scanning images of a person (for example using Facebook), a powerful GAN machine learning system can create new video images and place them in scenarios and situations which never actually happened. When combined with powerful voice AI, the results are utterly convincing. So-called 'Deep Fakes' are not only a real threat for democracy but they take the manipulation of voters to new levels. They will also affect ordinary people. This crisis of misinformation we are facing has been dubbed the 'Infocalypse'. Using her expertise from working in the field, Nina Schick reveals shocking examples of Deep Fakery and explains the dangerous political consequences of the Infocalypse, both in terms of national security and what it means for public trust in politics. She also unveils what it means for us as individuals, how Deep Fakes will be used to intimidate and to silence, for revenge and fraud, and how unprepared governments and tech companies are. As a political advisor to select technology firms, Schick is at the forefront of trends emerging from the worlds of data science, machine learning and AI. In this book she tells us what we need to do to prepare and protect ourselves. Too often we build the cool technology and ignore what bad guys can do with it before we start playing catch-up. But when it comes to Deep Fakes, we urgently need to be on the front foot.
About the author
Nina Schick is a political commentator, advisor and public speaker, specialising in how technology is reshaping politics in the 21st century. Most recently, her work has seen her advising on the fallout generated from Russian election interference in the US (and around the world) since 2016.
Nina has also advised global leaders including Emmanuel Macron, Joe Biden and Anders Fogh Rasmussen (the former Secretary General of NATO).
Half German and half Nepalese she speaks seven languages including German, Spanish and French and holds degrees from Cambridge University and University College London. She divides her time between London, Berlin and Kathmandu.
Summary
"Nina Schick is alerting us to a danger from the future that is already here." - Adam Boulton, Editor at Large, Sky News
"Deep Fakes and the Infocalypse is an urgent, thoughtful and thoroughly-researched book that raises uncomfortable questions about the way that information is being distorted by states and individuals... A must-read." - Greg Williams, Editor in Chief of WIRED UK
"Essential reading for any one interested about the shocking way information is and will be manipulated." - Lord Edward Vaizey
"Schick's Deep Fakes and the Infocalypse is a short, sharp book that hits you like a punch in the stomach." - Nick Cohen, The Observer
"Deep Fakes is an uncomfortable but gripping read, probing the way in which the internet has been flooded with disinformation and dark arts propaganda." - Jim Pickard, Chief Political Correspondent, Financial Times
"A searing insight into a world so many of us find difficult to understand. I was gripped from the first page." - Iain Dale, Broadcaster
"With this powerful book, Nina Schick has done us all a great public service...It's your civic duty to read it." - Jamie Susskind, author of Future Politics
"Gripping, alarming and morally vital." - Ian Dunt, Host of Remainiacs Podcast
Deep Fakes are coming, and we are not ready.
Advanced AI technology is now able to create video of people doing things they never did, in places they have never been, saying things they never said.
In the hands of rogue states, terrorists, criminals or crazed individuals, they represent a disturbing new threat to democracy and personal liberty.
Deep Fakes can be misused to shift public opinion, swing Presidential elections, or blackmail, coerce, and silence individuals. And when combined with the destabilising overload of disinformation that has been dubbed 'the Infocalypse', we are potentially facing a danger of world-changing proportions.
Deep Fakes and the Infocalypse is International Political Technology Advisor Nina Schick's stark warning about a future we all need to understand before it's too late.
Deep Fake technology at its most insidious can currently be seen in the BBC drama series The Capture.
Report
Nina Schick is alerting us to a danger from the future that is already here. Deepfakes mean that we can't trust our eyes and ears. Listen to this vital warning. Adam Boulton Sky News
