When I first starting writing for Breitbart.com way back in its first year, I was urged by my editors to make sure I carefully researched and documented any information in my columns. I would often insert the verifying link of the videos or newspaper resources to support the charges I asserted in the piece. At that time, I had full confidence in the videos I used as proof that supported the claims I was writing about.
It is now 2024 and I have found that thanks to the technical advances in media manipulation, nothing is credible anymore.
I have already written about the danger of AI (artificial intelligence) being used to create misinformation for political purposes, but AI is now being used at an alarming rate to scam the elderly and rob the gullible of life savings. What made me cognizant of how terribly advanced the technology is was by trying out an animation app that my grandkids suggested I try.
What started as Photoshopping photographs has morphed into wholesale deliberate larceny and corruption. The app I tried was called Dance Face but there are plenty of animation apps available for anybody to download. One downloads a photo and the app animates it to dance.
I did so and was shocked at the way my photo changed into a person that shook her head, laughed and grinned and talked a blue streak. This was not me, but if I forwarded the image to my family they would almost believe it was me except that the AI image had perfect teeth and I am now snaggle-toothed. If you are on a social network like Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, do not trust any video you see, especially any that askes you for personal info or credit cards.
Advertisers are using images of well-loved celebrities to hawk their wares and I don’t know how they get away with it.
The latest one I saw was a video of Tom Hanks promoting a dental plan, but fortunately, Mr. Hanks went on several talk shows warning that his AI image was being used and he was not endorsing any dental plan.
Celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Garner, and others are being used to promote giveaway items like mixers and cookware for free. All that’s required is a small shipping fee but the advertiser then has the customer’s credit card information.
The latest episode of CBS’s Blue Blood shows the worst possible incident when AI scammers use the voice of police officers to reveal location of key witnesses. AI scammers can access any posted images and voices on the internet and manipulate them for whatever purpose they can. They hide their identities within what is the “dark web” and they cannot be traced and apprehended.
Cyberterrorism is a great threat to the security of our nation and one would hope that we had sufficient safeguards in place to protect us.
Unfortunately, most of this administration’s actions seem to be focused on preventing Donald Trump from being elected president.
Dare I suggest that the only safeguard to avoid becoming the victim of clever hacking criminals is educating ourselves against them.
I’m pretty savvy about computers and the internet, yet I have also made terrible and costly decisions.
First, we all have to accept the fact that nothing is ever really free of charge and even small shipping charges are no guarantee that you will ever receive the item you’re ordering. Online advertisers on Facebook and Instagram are using store brands, like Nordstrom and Macys to reel in customers with ridiculously low prices but these are probably overseas Asian companies so check the store’s websites to verify the sales.
Scammers use logos of sites customers frequent and email them queries about their accounts to get access to passwords and security codes. Whenever I get an email from Chase Bank asking me to log in, I check where the email is actually from and even if it does come from Chase, I only login directly to the site itself not on the email.
Every click we make on our keyboard while online is being monitored by somebody, somewhere.
Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
