U.S. government interested in using deepfake technology for psychological operations
The U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND, which is accountable for some of the United States' most clandestine military undertakings, is preparing to execute online propaganda and deceitful campaigns using deepfake videos, as per federal contracting documents scrutinized by The Intercept.
The U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND, which is accountable for some of the United States' most clandestine military undertakings, is preparing to execute online propaganda and deceitful campaigns using deepfake videos, as per federal contracting documents scrutinized by The Intercept.
The proposals, which also detail the hacking of internet-connected devices to intercept and assess the vulnerability of foreign populations to propaganda, arrive during a period of intense worldwide deliberation on technologically advanced "disinformation" campaigns, their efficacy, and the moral implications of their deployment.
Although the U.S. government regularly cautions against the danger of deepfakes and is openly developing methods to combat them, the documentation from the Special Operations Command, also known as SOCOM, presents an almost unprecedented example of the American government — or any government — explicitly indicating its intention to utilize the highly contentious technology offensively.
SOCOM's ambitions for next-generation propaganda are delineated in a procurement document that details the capabilities it intends to acquire in the near future and invites proposals from external entities that are confident in their ability to construct them.
“When it comes to disinformation, the Pentagon should not be fighting fire with fire,” Chris Meserole, head of the Brookings Institution’s Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative, told The Intercept. “At a time when digital propaganda is on the rise globally, the U.S. should be doing everything it can to strengthen democracy by building support for shared notions of truth and reality. Deepfakes do the opposite. By casting doubt on the credibility of all content and information, whether real or synthetic, they ultimately erode the foundation of democracy itself.”
4.3.1.4. Military Information Support Operations (MISO): MISO technologies for influence ‘operations, digital deception, communication disruption, and disinformation campaigns at the tactical edge and operational levels. + Provide a next generation capability to collect disparate data through public and open source information streams such as social media, local media, etc. to enable MISO to craft and direct influence operations and messages in relevant peer/near peer environments «Provide a next generation of “deep fake” or other similar technology to generate messages and influence operations via non-traditional channels in relevant peer/near peer environments. «Generate next generation capability to “takeover” Internet of Things (IoT) devices for collect data and information from local populaces to enable breakdown of what messaging might be popular and accepted through siftingof data once received. This would enable MISO to craft and promote messages that may be more readily received by local populace in relevant peer/near peer environments.
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