Deepfakes
Context:
Addressing the special session on "AI for Democracy" at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla flagged deepfakes and misinformation as serious threats to democratic systems.
He emphasized that while Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to make democracy more transparent and citizen-centric, it must be used to strengthen truth rather than distort facts.
About Deepfakes:
Deepfakes are artificially generated or manipulated media created using deep learning models to produce highly realistic but synthetic representations of people, objects, or events.
They are created using advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine-learning algorithms.
They utilize sophisticated algorithms to manipulate media, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish between reality and fabrication.
This capability is becoming a potent tool for digital impersonation and misinformation.
How Deepfakes Works:
Deepfakes involves in two models:
Discriminative models are used to tell the difference between things—for example, whether an image is real or fake.
Generative models, on the other hand, try to understand how real data works so they can create new, similar data.
The main difference is what they’re used for: discriminative models detect, and generative models create.
Generative adversarial networks:
GANs are a type of generative AI that trains a generative and a discriminative model together.
The relationship between both models is best described as friendly competition:
while the generator creates synthetic content, the discriminator works to distinguish real media from fakes.
This rivalry pushes the generator to improve its work until its outputs become nearly indistinguishable from authentic media.
Key Threats:
The Lok Sabha Speaker highlighted that deepfakes can manipulate public opinion, create confusion, and erode credibility in democratic institutions.
There is an urgent need to develop robust safeguards to protect democratic discourse.
Beyond domestic politics, deepfakes pose significant risks to international security.
In an era, rife with mistrust, they can convince populations of the veracity of false information, potentially leading to political tension, violence, or even war.
Countermeasures and Innovations:
Global Online Deepfake Detection System (GODDS):
To combat this menace, researchers have developed systems like GODDS.
Led by Professor Subrahmanian, this initiative provides a pro bono deepfake detection service specifically for journalists.
How it works:
It combines automated algorithms with human analysis (context and background knowledge) to render an expert opinion on whether a digital artifact is a deepfake.
Experts suggest a three-pronged approach to mediate the threat:
Implementing smart policies
Conducting public awareness campaigns
Deploying technical countermeasures.