Running Projects

2020 - 2021: Tackling Deepfakes in the new AI Legislative Framework

The term “deepfake” refers to the creation or manipulation of highly realistic media content – most notably audios, images and videos – through several machine learning (ML) techniques. While deepfake technology will bring certain benefits through applications in the area of entertainment, education and healthcare, it can also be harmful to the individuals concerned or to our societies and democracies as a whole.

The project will use desk analysis and expert interviews to review deepfake techniques, their context and impact. It will then develop and examine a set of policy options that are relevant to the committees of the European Parliament, including the new Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age (AIDA), and relate to activities of the European Commission, including its White Paper on AI and the legislative proposal that is anticipated to follow it in early 2021.

ITAS will focus on the social, economic and legal aspects of deepfake technologies. Expert interviews covering relevant actors in the field, ranging from academia, NGOs and company representatives to journalists, will back up and go beyond the findings of a literature review and support the development of comprehensive policy options.

Contact: Jutta Jahnel, Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS)