DeepFake Reality (12/10/22)

How Fake Media Affects You - A Live Demo

Members of the public gathered to talk about the impact of DeepFake videos on ordinary people with one of the world’s leading experts and see a live demonstration of this exciting—and disturbing—technology.

Fake videos of famous people are in the news. Sometimes they are silly, sometimes serious. They raise interesting legal questions. But unless you are an actor or a politician, why should you care? Only people who spend a lot of time in front of cameras can be put in a fake video, right? It is expensive and takes expertise to create a fake video, right? No one is going to create a fake video of you, right? Right?

Sadly, the rich and famous are no longer the only targets of so-called DeepFakes. The technology needed to create them is getting cheaper and easier to access. What does that mean for you? Let’s talk about it.

Headshot of Siwei Lyu.

 Dr. Siwei Lyu is one of the world’s leading experts on DeepFakes. He has testified on this subject before the NY Senate and US House of Representatives. His work on media forensics has been featured in more than 50 media interviews from global media venues including CNN, BBC, and Wired Magazine.

Lyu will be joined by students he mentors from Williamsville East HS and the University at Buffalo. They will demonstrate what can currently be done to create DeepFakes and discuss how to detect them, what to look for, and what things you need to be concerned about in a world where you cannot always trust what you see on video.