Summary

The article discusses the potential risks and misuse of personal data on social media due to the rise of AI technologies, emphasizing the need for safeguards like safewords and public awareness to prevent scams.

Abstract

The article "Is the Rise of AI the End of Public Social Media Profiles?" explores the increasing threat of AI-enabled scams, including voice cloning, deepfake pornography, and child exploitation material, which are facilitated by the abundance of personal data and images available on social media. It highlights the ease with which AI can create convincing fake content, leading to potential blackmail and financial scams, as illustrated by the close call of attorney Gary Schildhorn, who nearly transferred $9,000 to scammers impersonating his son. The author suggests that the proliferation of AI-driven scams necessitates a reevaluation of what we share online and advocates for the use of secret codes or safewords to verify the identity of loved ones in communications. The piece also touches on the fun and innovative aspects of AI, such as voice and video translation and editing tools, but ultimately underscores the importance of being cautious with personal information on the internet.

Opinions

The author believes that the rise of AI has introduced significant risks to personal privacy and security, with AI-generated scams becoming increasingly convincing and difficult to detect.
There is a concern that the general public is largely unaware of the potential for misuse of their data by AI technologies, which can lead to serious consequences, including financial loss and emotional distress.
The article implies that the current state of social media sharing habits is unsustainable in the face of advanced AI capabilities, and that individuals must take proactive steps to protect themselves and their families.
The author suggests that AI, while a powerful tool for creativity and communication, is being exploited for nefarious purposes, and this duality presents a challenge for society to manage responsibly.
The piece calls for greater awareness and education about AI's capabilities and the importance of implementing personal security measures, such as safewords, to mitigate the risks associated with AI misuse.

Is the Rise of AI the End of Public Social Media Profiles?

Do we have to hide our data and pictures to combat AI-misuse of our personal information?

A few months ago, I asked my mom to choose a safeword. No, there’s nothing kinky involved. It’s for her safety. She’s 80 and rarely answers the phone unless she knows the number. But like all of us, she’s at risk from voice cloning calls.

If she ever gets a panicked call from me telling her I’ve been in an accident or asking for money for some reason, she has to ask for our safeword.

Why? Well, there’s a good chance that even if it sounds like me, it’s not me calling her. Voice cloning scams are on the rise.

A 20-second recording of your voice pulled off the internet is enough to create a realistic copy of your voice with AI. Do you have any idea how many videos your family or friends have posted on social media? Do you know how many you’ve uploaded? No?

None of us does. So make sure to talk to your parents, grandparents, kids, and friends now and agree on a secret “handshake.” If not, they could be in for a nasty surprise.

AI is the gift that keeps on giving. But as Katie Jgln laid out in her recent article, it’s not giving us the future we were hoping for. Instead, it keeps inventing new ways to rip off and scam people.

First, we saw the rise of convincing scam emails. Gone are the days when sloppy grammar and strange translations betrayed the sender’s evil intentions. ChatGPT and co. are now doubling as multilingual secretaries for criminals.

But compared to the scams now on the rise, being scammed by email is still easy to avoid.

AI tools developed to create fake pornographic images and videos with pictures of real women’s faces are used to pressure and blackmail them into silence.

But the victims are not just adults.

I know you think your kids are cute, and so do your friends and family who like those pictures you post on social media.

But I don’t think you realize that criminals can use AI to create CSAM (child s*xual abuse material) with images of your kids’ faces. The risk of content misuse is so great that Deutsche Telekom recently launched an ad campaign to discourage people from sharing pictures of their children on social media.

AI has made tools that we couldn’t even imagine a year ago easy to use. For everyone.

I use a tool called Descript to transcribe my podcast recordings. It allows me to edit audio and video by simply deleting or copy-pasting parts of the transcripts. And if necessary, I can use a clone of my voice to add words.

But why stop there? You don’t even have to record yourself anymore. There are many websites like Elevenlabs that offer to take a few photos and create an avatar that looks and sounds just like you. Or like Joe Biden, for that matter.

Write some text and let your avatar speak for you. It’s fun and easy.

Do you have an international audience? Forget subtitles. There’s a tool called HeyGen that translates your video into another language. It uses a replica of your voice and even matches your mouth movements to the words. Magic right?

Would your video would be more interesting if you looked like the Mona Lisa? Or are you just bored with the way you look? No problem. Unboring will fix that for you! It will replace your face in any video with any other face you choose.

This is all mind-blowing and really cool. But the same technology that lets you create voice-overs for videos that sound like you is quickly becoming a weapon — a tool used to target your loved ones. And potentially scam them out of their life savings.

Just recently, corporate attorney Gary Schildhorn told Congress how he almost sent $9,000 to scammers.

He received a call from his distraught son — or so he thought. In reality, a cloned voice of his son told him that there had been an accident and that he needed money for his bail. His “son” asked him to get in touch with his lawyer.

The clone sounded so convincing that he fell for it and was about to transfer the money to the scammers. At the last moment, he sensed that something was off and called his son. Who was fine, of course.

Almost all of us have posted a selfie on social media — publicly.

According to phototutorial, 92 million selfies are taken every day, accounting for 4% of all the photos taken (2.3 billion) daily. Over 50% of millennials have published a selfie at least once.

Posting videos to Instagram stories or on TikTok and sending audio messages to random people has become the norm.

We have little control over these images and messages once they’re out there. And no idea who has downloaded copies. Until recently, there was no reason to care.

AI has changed this profoundly.

The number of AI-driven scams that have become possible in just a few months is unimaginable to most people. They’re all run with information freely available on social media.

The risk of data misuse with AI is a good reason to rethink posting anything publicly on the internet. Everyone has to be more aware of how easily we can be tricked by fake images, videos, and audio.

There is no way of knowing what scammers will be able to do with your data or images in a few years’ time.

What happens when you suddenly get a fake video call from a loved one instead of a simple phone call? Will you be able to tell if this is your son, daughter, or friend over the screen of your mobile phone? If it looks and sounds just like them?

They only way to make absolutely sure is a code or safe word. And frequent reminders that this is a possible risk.

Schildhorn spoke to Congress because he realized that few people are aware of these scams. And if you’re a victim, there is little recourse. The money will be gone, and the perpetrators are nearly impossible to catch.

Keep this in mind when you post on social media.

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