Scientists prove they can implant false memories into people with AI-generated deepfakes

A team of scientists have shown that they are able to implant false memories inside subjects that participated in a fascinating survey.

The team of researchers published a new study in PLOS One, which detailed a recent survey that contained 436 participants. The survey aimed to prove that humans are able to generate false memories through reading and seeing deepfake videos/images as well as descriptions. For example, the team of researchers showed the participants false additions to famous movies that were generated through the power of artificial intelligence systems.

More specifically, the researchers showed the survey participants falsified examples such as Brad Pitt starring in The Shining, Will Smith starring in The Matrix, and Chris Pratt in Indiana Jones. The study's participants were asked if they had seen these examples before and to rate them compared to the original. Notably, 49 percent of the study participants were fooled by the deep fake videos, while forty-one percent of the group claimed that one example (Charlize Theron being in Captain Marvel) was better than the original.

It should be noted that the deep fake videos were no more effective at fooling the study participants than text descriptions of false content.

"We shouldn't jump to predictions of dystopian futures based on our fears around emerging technologies. Yes there are very real harms posed by deep fakes, but we should always gather evidence for those harms in the first instance, before rushing to solve problems we've just assumed might exist," said lead study author Gillian Murphy, a misinformation researcher at University College Cork in Ireland, told The Daily Beast.

"Our findings are not especially concerning, as they don't suggest any uniquely powerful threat of deepfakes over and above existing forms of misinformation," said Murphy