The Battle Against Deepfakes How Hany Farid is Protecting Truth in the Digital Age
Hany Farid, Ph.D. Professor Electrical Engineering and Computer Science School of Information UC Berkeley
By Sarah Colwell
CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVACY
Deepfake technology – whether it relates to photography, video or audio– is advancing rapidly, enabling bad actors to impersonate individuals, create fraudulent accounts, and manipulate digital content in ways that are increasingly difficult to detect. At the forefront of this battle is Hany Farid, a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and the School of Information at UC Berkeley and one of the world’s leading experts in digital forensics and misinformation. His UC Noyce Initiative-funded research project, “Protecting Against Malicious Generative AI Content,” is pioneering cutting-edge forensic techniques to detect and mitigate the risks of AI-generated media. His team’s forensic techniques have already been featured in collaborations with major media outlets and government agencies, and their breakthroughs have helped to combat AI-driven fraud across various industries. “AI generation of you, a candidate, a CEO, a politician, a news anchor, saying anything I want, and that is a major success for the AI community,” Farid said, “and terrifying for people like me.” A Race Against Deception Farid’s lab has been instrumental in working with major news outlets and fact-checking organizations across the globe, authenticating and debunking digitally altered content. His team has developed forensic models that analyze biometric and behavioral properties in videos, identifying even the slightest deviations that indicate AI manipulation. His groundbreaking work has been featured in Time Magazine, NPR, and Scientific American, bringing global attention to the rising threat of AI-driven deception. “It’s getting harder and harder to believe what you read, see and hear online. That’s worrisome because you are going to have people victimized by deepfakes,” Farid said. “So since the rapid advancement of AI technologies has outpaced our ability to detect and mitigate their malicious use, it makes it all the more imperative to develop robust forensic tools like the ones my team is working on.” One of the most exciting breakthroughs from this research has been the development of forensic tools that can protect world leaders from deepfake impersonations.
66 Impact Report 2023 - 24 | UC NI
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