Extra Credit: Is There Ever a Situation in Which Deepfakes can be Beneficial?
Part of my course was learning about deepfakes. Generally, deepfakes are seen as harmful, as they've been heavily abused (including for pornographic use) and can be used as a convincing tool in misinformation and disinformation. Famous people have fallen victim to deepfakes, including Scarlett Johanssen and Taylor Swift.
For this assignment, I was challenged to imagine a scenario in which a deepfake could be used beneficially (the definition of "beneficial" is left up to me). Part of the challenge is to create a purpose or result that does not deceive.
I really struggled to imagine a scenario in which a deepfake could be used for good. I often countered my own ideas with those explored in "Black Mirror," which counteracted any of the benefits I could imagine. Ultimately, I can't say that my idea is immune to misuse or being used deceptively, but if used in the intended way, I could see it being "beneficial."
My chosen definition of "beneficial" for this assignment: the deepfake is used in a way that creates a positive emotional response in the user, without deceiving them of its true nature; that the user fully understands the "person" they are speaking to on the video doesn't actually exist in order to ensure this.
The situation I've come up with is using deepfakes in therapy for people who are unable to speak to the person they need to speak with. It could be someone they love, need to confront, or are getting interviewed by.
While current therapy can aim to (and successfully helps people) help a patient move on or come to terms with a wrong-doing or guilt, maybe it would be helpful if they had the option to talk to the person they can't talk to. This could include forgiveness, overcoming trauma, or helping ease anxiety.
Forgiveness is a large part of therapy, and it's not always possible to ask for forgiveness or to give forgiveness, and that can have long standing consequences. Conversations are very important for people's wellbeing, and being denied a conversation can be difficult.
On a less emotional and very practical note, deepfakes could also be used to practice for interviews. This could be part of therapy and easing anxiety, but it's also good to practice for interviews, regardless. Talking to a "person" over video over an AI chat, would probably be better (under the assumption that the deepfake passes the Turing Test). I've tried AI interview prep as a part of another class, and it wasn't my favorite. I found some of it to be realistic, but other parts too rehearsed. It was also just frustrating to use, sometimes.
While I didn't create a deepfake of my own to test out my idea, I wanted to share how I got the idea to use a deepfake to interact with a loved one. I was thinking of situations in which deepfakes have already been used, and I thought of how "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 2" included Philip Seymour Hoffman after his passing. While the director, Francis Lawrence, chose not to prioritize the use of CGI to complete Hoffman's remaining scenes, he did use a combination of rewriting some scenes and old footage to respect his legacy. While creating a deepfake goes against Lawrence's approach to the film, it made me think that maybe a deepfake could be used with that amount of compassion and positive intent.
After thinking about Hoffman, I decided to do some more research on CGI being used for actors that have passed. I then came across this clip from ABC News, and thought it was interesting that the video is over ten years old now.