CYSE 201S, Uncategorized

Article Analysis

Posted by ktayl091 on

The article delves into the use of deepfakes as a combative tool in order to spread disinformation, whether that be during wartime or peacetime. This perfectly encapsulates the principles of social sciences as well as relates to a lot of the work that we have done in class. The main case study of the article relates to the use of these deepfakes in the Russo-Ukrainian war showing the interconnectedness of the government and media. Previously we explored an article relating to a country’s use of social cybersecurity to spread propaganda for the sake of dividing a country from the inside out. These methods usually prey on the inherent differences of people to cause civil unrest in the citizens of the country which in turn makes the country an easier target during a war. At one point the government would control a lot of larger narratives surrounding political affairs on the account of controlling centralized media, however with the rise of decentralized media narratives with social weight can be constructed by anyone with internet access. Social sciences will also explore how societal changes in accordance with the rise of new technology. As we see in the article, it is argued that laws must be adjusted to cull this rising threat even going as far as to install a Geneva convention for the purpose of banning the use of deepfakes for hostile acts on another country. Another solution that arose was the criminalization of deepfakes in which deepfake threat actors could be sued for disinformation showing the ability for a society to self-regulate in the face of change. An article from this week’s journal shows illegal activities that the average person would not know are illegal. Laws of this nature can lead to people having more misconceptions about what’s illegal to participate in on the internet because of the dangerous nature of a widely used tool in AI creation. Lastly the article can pose questions of motivation as we discussed in class before. On an individual level the most common motivation for cybercrime is money, however this article shows that a government’s motivation for participating in such actions revolves around the conquering of another nation for a wider range of potential benefits.

What steps are governments around the world taking in order to combat Deepfakes on multiple levels including international and national? What are the pros and cons of certain laws to address the concerns of deepfakes? Most importantly, how can these laws be implemented in a way that does not impede the rights to one’s own cognitive liberty? These are the main questions that the article explores with the need for these laws stemming from the examples set from the Russo- Ukrainian war. It also shows the steps that other nations are taking, such as America leading in attempting to regulate deepfakes on a national level. Solutions such as requiring full disclosure of deep-fake usage have been proposed.

Though the article does not include the use of methods such as surveys or other methods of gathering large data points through individual people’s experiences, which is common for social science research, the authors used qualitative legal analysis to research existing treaties and laws to identify gaps in the legal reasoning for the proposed solutions. Another method employed by the researchers include the main case study of the Russo- Ukrainian war to serve as an example and cautionary tale of the large-scale threat that unchecked deepfakes can cause for a society. Lastly the data sources used to strengthen their argument were from reviewing laws such as the Geneva Conventions, Legal practices by acting countries like America or China, and most importantly human rights laws to convey their points on the preservation of cognitive liberty.

In terms of marginalized groups, they could be potential targets for the propaganda that could be spread with deepfakes. The main use for deepfakes as a tool for war is to create division within a country. Marginalized groups can be targeted to insight a civil war through the demonization of their presence to the majority in the form of disinformation or even through inciting division within a marginalized group’s own people to destroy itself which creates weak links within a country. Multiple marginalized groups being manipulated at once could cause a wave of division that can sway whole elections or policies in nations such as the U.S.

Cognitive Liberty as a bar for human rights is an important proposal for the cybersecurity community and the topic at large. This is a significant contribution since it seems that countries at large are mainly focused on the bottom line of stopping deepfakes despite how it might affect individual autonomy. Another contribution is that it shows significant gaps in international law in the fact that it does not effectively solve the malicious use of deepfakes as well as providing a framework for other entities to explore solutions through these findings.

References

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