Week 14 · Unit 2, Lesson 4 Artificial Intelligence and Deepfake · 3 lessons
1
What is a deepfake?
ICT Prep 3 Term 1, Unit 2, Lesson 4: pp. 88–95
GoalDefine a deepfake, give a good use and a risk, and say why the word fake matters.
New words
deepfake · a picture, video or voice made or changed by AI so that it looks and sounds realfake content · content that shows something that did not happenreal content · content that shows what really happenedsource · the person or place that first published something
Explanation
A deepfake is a picture, video or voice made or changed by AI so that it looks and sounds real, though the event never happened. The name joins deep learning and fake. Imagine an invented video of the mayor of an invented town saying words he never said. His face and voice look right, but the speech was made by a program. The same ability has good uses too: AI can translate a lesson and dub it into another language, and films can use it openly with permission. So the technology is not bad in itself. The danger comes when it is used to trick people. Remember that a deepfake is made by a program trained on examples (Week 5), and a program has no feelings about truth: people decide how to use it.
Invented example
Good use or risk?
Why
a lesson video dubbed into another language, with the teacher’s permission
good use
more learners understand, and everyone knows it is dubbed
a made-up video of an invented mayor announcing a false decision
risk
people may believe something that never happened
a fake voice message asking a family for money
risk
fraud: it tries to trick people
a film where an actor’s face is made younger, as the film credits say
good use
it is open, agreed and part of art
Worked examples
a real speech exists→AI changes voice and mouth→a video looks real but is false→people may believe it
In Greenfield, an invented town, a video seems to show the mayor saying that school will close for a month. The mayor never said it. People who believe it may change their plans before anyone checks. The speech was a deepfake.
A teacher records a science lesson in Arabic. With the teacher’s permission, a tool dubs it into another language, and the screen says it is dubbed. More students can learn, and nobody is tricked. The difference from the mayor is permission and openness.
Class activity
Write two invented examples: one good use and one risk of making a person appear to say words they never said. For each, say who is helped or hurt. Do not use the name of a real person.
Practice
1
What is a deepfake?
A picture, video or voice made or changed by AI so that it looks and sounds real.
2
Is the technology behind deepfakes bad in itself?
No. It has good uses such as dubbing with permission; the danger is using it to trick people.
3
Give one risk of a deepfake.
For example people may believe something false, someone’s name may be hurt, or fraud may be tried.
4
What made the dubbed lesson different from the mayor’s fake video?
Permission and openness: everyone knows it is dubbed.
