Deepfake Mark Zuckerberg Video Surfaces Ahead of Congressional AI Hearing
A digitally altered video shows Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg making a sinister statement about data control, adding fuel to the deepfake debate just before a House Intelligence Committee hearing.
A deepfake video featuring Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg surfaces on Instagram just ahead of a Congressional hearing on manipulated media. In the clip, an artificially altered Zuckerberg appears on a fake CBS News broadcast and declares that whoever controls the data controls the future. Two British artists create the video using AI tools from an Israeli company called Canny AI, and the footage quickly goes viral with tens of thousands of views.
This deepfake arrives weeks after Facebook faces intense criticism for refusing to remove a crudely altered video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The Pelosi controversy sets the stage for a House Intelligence Committee hearing focused on the national security challenges of artificial intelligence and deepfake technology. Lawmakers express grave concerns that voters soon will not be able to trust their own eyes and ears when viewing content on their screens.
The rapid progression of this technology means corporate boardrooms will likely have to address the threat in the near future. Just this week, Adobe Research and other groups demonstrate a text-to-speech deepfake tool that can literally put any words into a person's mouth. As CBS requests the takedown of the unauthorized Zuckerberg clip, the incident highlights the growing difficulty of policing digitally manipulated media across social platforms.