In 2023, more deepfake abuse videos were shared than in every other year in history combined, according to an analysis by independent researcher Genevieve Oh. What used to take skillful, tech-savvy experts hours to Photoshop can now be whipped up at a moment’s notice with the help of an app. Some deepfake websites even offer tutorials on how to create AI pornography.
What happens if we don’t get this under control? It will further blur the lines between what’s real and what’s not — as politics become more and more polarized. What will happen when voters can’t separate truth from lies? And what are the stakes? As we get closer to the presidential election, democracy itself could be at risk. And, as Ocasio-Cortez points out in our conversation, it’s about much more than imaginary images.
“It’s so important to me that people understand that this is not just a form of interpersonal violence, it’s not just about the harm that’s done to the victim,” she says about nonconsensual deepfake porn. She puts down her spoon and leans forward. “Because this technology threatens to do it at scale — this is about class subjugation. It’s a subjugation of entire people. And then when you do intersect that with abortion, when you do intersect that with debates over bodily autonomy, when you are able to actively subjugate all women in society on a scale of millions, at once digitally, it’s a direct connection [with] taking their rights away.”
You have never owned your reputation.
And - while you sort of own your body - you have never owned depictions of your property (that someone else made with their labor).
If you are wondering what I mean by “sort of owning your body”: You are not allowed to sell it whole or in parts (ie organs). If you try to destroy or damage it, most governments will interfere. In fact, governments provide assistance to maintain that particular piece of property.
This ownership-centric view is simply dystopian.
Just because you own something does not mean there are no rules. I can own property that doesn’t mean I get to light it in fire, or dump chemicals on it that cause an environmental nightmare, or kill a protected animal, or fish a river flowing through it without a license, or run a meth lab on it…
You own your body and image. 5th amendment. Not having absolute unlimited power over both doesn’t change who the owner is. Frankly this type of black and white thinking is lolitarian logic.