Can Blockchain Technology Combat the Problem of Deepfakes?

Blockchain technology is fast becoming an interesting feature worth exploring. Researchers are trying to find ways of using the ace features of the technology beyond the realm of cryptocurrencies. Deepfakes in recent times have become a big challenge for many celebrities on social media. This is because it is tarnishing their reputation. Therefore, this article will explore blockchain technology’s potential to deal with deepfakes.

Features of Blockchain Technology

Blockchain Technology has many exciting features that can minimize the dangers of deepfakes. The most notable feature is decentralization. In this feature, users can store data that does not have any centralized authority. Blockchain facilitates constant reconfirmation and review of data after creation. Decentralized authentication and a transparent chain of custody can be beneficial for many online materials. This is because users can find and track down information and data in a readable format. 

The efficacy of blockchain can significantly increase only if it has links with technological, civil, corporate, and political leaders and organizations. These leaders and organizations  influence both social media content’s creation as well as consumption. Some have enough power to essentially govern the social media space. Therefore, blockchain’s efficacy needs legal backing everywhere. 

Blockchain also has a timestamping feature that when combined with virtual reality signatures and standard encryption can offer information on items. It can subsequently identify deepfakes. It can use specialized timestamping in many industries, such as supply chain products and notaries in contracts.

The Depth of Deepfake Problem

Just imagine you wake up and find someone looking exactly like you doing embarrassing things online. The embarrassing things may include intimate images and videos without your consent or knowledge. Deepfakes can tarnish the reputation of celebrities, ordinary individuals, and organizations associated with them.

Deepfakes Becoming A Routine Affair

The most serious problem with deepfakes is that it is becoming a routine affair. Some people out of mischief use modern AI to create deepfakes that are synthetic representations of real individuals. It is hard to trace culprits because they are often untraceable. For some women, deepfakes can be highly embarrassing. The disturbing fact is that of the 85,000 women deepfakes online, nearly 99% are pornographic deepfakes. The legal system in many countries is simply not up to the mark to deal with the menace of deepfakes.

Once deepfakes become viral, there is very little that can be done to stop it. For example, a Telegram channel paid some dollars to generate nude images of over 680,000 East European and Russian women. Journalists, actors, artists, YouTubers, and politicians all have been targets of deepfakes. Yet, there is no single organization can deal with this menace. Most lawmakers and governments still overlook the problem. 

Deepfakes often spread propaganda, and false information and can have malicious intentions such as defamation. Often, the main purpose of deepfakes is to threaten, embarrass, undermine, and harass innocent people. Sometimes, these can spread confusion among the general public. Though some fake images are easier to detect because of low-grade technology, some can be hard to detect. The use of AI to create deepfakes may sometimes make them undetectable. 

Blockchain Solutions For Deepfakes

Blockchain technology has the potential to detect deepfakes. However, it is impossible to prevent the creation of malicious deepfakes altogether. Though blockchain has good levels of security, it is not entirely immune from advanced forms of cyber attacks. Blockchains can verify the accuracy of data from the start till the recent incident. Therefore, the accuracy of video can be judged by using blockchain too.

Blockchain till now can fight well against deepfakes by detecting them. However, it needs substantial support and integration of Artificial Intelligence. Blockchain technology and Artificial Intelligence can be beneficial to minimize the amount of disinformation spread by deepfakes. 

Blockchain technology has hashing and cryptographic algorithms. Once these features are combined, they can be powerful and become almost immutable. Cryptographic hashing algorithm makes an output of fixed length by taking a text input. The output is called a hash. Similar data can share the same information by comparing hashes. Therefore, it can be useful to prove that content, file, and a piece of text was not changed or modified over time. 

The immutability feature of blockchain too can combat deepfakes to a limited extent. These invariably involve tampering with video content at a specific point. The immutability feature of blockchain technology can trace digital content to create an auditable trail. For deepfake identification, blockchain networks can detect whether videos, images, and contents were altered or not. 

Photo and video authenticity-checking company Truepic uses a combination of Ethereum and Bitcoin blockchains to find out alterations in photos and videos.  They too use the immutability feature for verification. 

Possible Limitations of Using Blockchain Technology

Although blockchain technology can detect alterations, it is equally important to know some of the limitations. The timestamping feature can help in detecting the time of alteration, however, it may not accurately prove ownership. This is a crucial limitation because in legal cases involving deepfakes, ownership of the fake photo or video matters a lot. Since AI is used often in creating fake images, combining both blockchain and AI can be cumbersome. It is worth noting that not all technological problems have technological solutions. For example, it is hard to stop the spread of deepfakes once the video goes viral.

Also Read- PayBitoPro’s Sudden Increase in Investors Opting for Crypto Broker Platform

Conclusion

Blockchain technology can indeed combat deepfakes. Therefore, legal support is essential for using this technology to fight these and catch and prosecute real perpetrators. Moreover, it is also true that blockchain technology’s application requires a fair amount of technological knowledge. Additionally, governments around the world should educate people about the menace of deepfakes and frame proper policies for combating it. The current limitations of using blockchain may not exist in the future.