Future Around & Find Out

Deepfakes are getting easier and easier to make. So, how will we be able to believe that what we see and what we hear is real? And what can software makers do to help?

Sam Gregory is an expert on deepfakes, AI, and trust. He advises governments and tech companies on how they can protect human rights and how we can preserve our shared reality. 

Sam is the executive director of WITNESS, an organization that helps citizens use video to foster social change. WITNESS has trained and supported citizen-journalists since the days of the camcorder through the smartphone era and now into the world of AI. 

We discuss:
  • How deepfakes are being used to spread disinformation and erode trust in media.
  • How to detect that a piece of media was manipulated and to what degree
  • Why audio deepfakes are so pernicious
  • How deepfakes mostly did not affect the 2024 US Presidential Election, while cheapfakes were very common
  • The surprising ways AI is both helping and harming human rights defenders and journalists
  • Why “Prepare, Don’t Panic” is WITNESS’s mantra for addressing AI threats.
  • Practical steps software makers can take to design tools that prioritize transparency and ethical use, such as including transparency features in AI-generated content, red teaming to simulate misuse scenarios, thinking beyond Western contexts, and more…
Chapters:
  • (00:55) - Deepfakes and the threat they pose human rights and journalism
  • (03:16) - The 2024 US election and how deepfakes, cheapfakes, and audio clones were used
  • (07:35) - Why WITNESS. says “Prepare, Don’t Panic” about AI
  • (11:16) - Recommendation for software builders to prevent — and detect — misuse
  • (13:45) - How to identify that a piece of media was manipulated by AI
  • (17:31) - Red Teaming: The scary questions builders should ask as they deploy new products
  • (22:20) - WITNESS.’s work beyond AI
  • (26:00) - Good news: we’ve preparing for AI and deepfakes for a long time and governments and technologists are working together

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What is Future Around & Find Out?

You know what would be awesome? If we could build the future we want — before we muck it up.

Future Around & Find Out helps builders think clearly about AI and emerging technologies, grapple with the implications, and decide what to build next.

Independent technologist and former NPR journalist Dan Blumberg speaks with founders, makers, and you to celebrate breakthroughs, call BS on the hype, explore how things might go sideways — and how we can steer the future in the right direction.

The Webby Awards have honored the show (formerly known as CRAFTED.) as a top tech podcast three years in a row!

On Tuesdays, we feature interviews with the builders changing how we work, live, and play.

On FAFO Fridays, futurist Kwaku Aning joins Dan for a playful recap of the week in tech, including the amazing, the scary, and the strange.

You’ll also hear about innovations that too often get overshadowed by AI, including in deep tech, biotech, fintech, quantum computing, robotics, blockchain, and more.

Across it all, you’ll hear sharp takes on what comes next and what builders need to know now.

So let’s Future Around & Find Out together!

https://www.FutureAround.com