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.”
It was never legal because all pornography was illegal first. And unless you want to go back to pre-Christian Rome, that’s how it’s been for centuries.
I’m still waiting for your solid reasoning, because so far, your ‘reasoning’ has been ‘you can totally do it.’
I don’t think you are trying very hard to see beyond your defeatist position. The revenge porn example should land close enough to the mark for you to see that things that were legal can be made illegal. Even types of porn can be made illegal. So because it has literally been done before, yes you can totally do it.
Also yes the centuries ago interpretation is fine. Still shows taking something that was legal and making illegal.
I’m sorry, but “pornography was legal in the pre-Christian Roman Empire, therefore we can stop deepfake porn now” is your so-called solid reasoning?
No and you are not engaging honestly at this point.
Since I have requested you to give me your solid reasoning multiple times and you haven’t, and since you also put words in my mouth, you claiming I’m the one not engaging honestly is laughable.
You are usually better than this. I did give you a perfectly applicable recent example of a type of porn being made illegal but you are ignoring it and misrepresenting my argument, after getting touchy about words being put in your mouth. You requesting multiple times and then choosing to ignore the valid response is a failing on your part.
I missed this recent type example. If you mean child pornography, again, pornography being illegal predates child pornography. I didn’t say child pornography existed in Ancient Rome. It didn’t. It’s a relatively new concept, mostly due to the invention of photography. There are virtually no examples that predate it.
So your example was not a solid one as you claim.
Also, I am “touchy” about words being put in my mouth because I don’t like people lying about what I say. Maybe you’re okay with libel, but I am not.
No I don’t mean cp. I mean revenge porn, like I’ve mentioned multiple times. Are you reading what you are disagreeing with?
“So your example was not a solid one as you claim.” If you’re going to act haughty you ought to at least be right.
When was revenge porn legal in the first place? Do you mean pretty much immediately before it was identified, named and codified? So like two years?