New Jersey concerned with deepfake AI. Here’s what deepfake artificial intelligence is

There are real concerns that deepfake AI will impact the presidential election, and people in New Jersey are among the most concerned.

But what, exactly, is deepfake artificial intelligence? Here’s where the tech stands today, and why there is so much concern surrounding it.

What is a deepfake?

The University of Virginia’s Information and Security Department explains the technology as similar in nature to other image-generating software, but goes much further.

“A deepfake is an artificial image or video (a series of images) generated by a special kind of machine learning called deep’ learning, hence the name,” read the University of Virginia’s deepfake AI explainer. “Deep learning is similar to any kind of machine learning, where an algorithm is fed examples and learns to produce output that resembles the examples it learned from.”

How harmful is deepfake AI?

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, one company was bilked out $25 million in a deepfake scam, during which an employee was conned into making a deal through a deepfaked team meeting.

Global professional services group KPMG also warned of deepfake AI’s maliciousness.

“AI is now being used to alter maps, imagery, X-rays, and is used to generate text and even create realistic artwork,” read KPMG’s deepfake AI assessment. “Deepfakes are close to being readily available for a variety of purposes, not all of which are well-intended.”

New Jersey concerned by deepfake AI impact

New Jersey is among the ten states most concerned by the deepfake AI threat, according to findings from AI platform Plus Docs. Plus Docs based its findings off a review of related Google searches.

New Jersey ranked ninth in Plus Docs fundings, and was the only Mid-Atlantic state in the top ten.

“Deepfakes usually make it appear that someone said something they did not,” read an e-mail from Plus Docs, “often to spread a false narrative with nefarious intentions.”

How much AI will voters see this 2024 election

Craig Holman, a Capitol Hill lobbyist who works in governmental ethics for the nonprofit Public Citizen, believes 2024 will become the first deepfake election cycle, where AI will influence voters and impact election results.

“Artificial intelligence has been around for a while, but only in this election cycle have we seen it advance to the point where most people cannot tell the difference between a deepfake and reality,” Holman said. “It’s sort of breathtaking how good the AI has become.”

Deepfaked videos of Vice President and democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris were shared on the social media platform X, according to published reports.

And a separate published report indicated that republican presidential nominee Donald Trump deepfaked a photo of himself among a throng of Black supporters.

Elon Musk, the owner of X, has been urged to rid X of deepfaked political content.

Damon C. Williams is a Philadelphia-based journalist reporting on trending topics across the Mid-Atlantic Region.