How Will We Know What Is Real in a World of AI-Generated Images, Video and Voice?

In the intelligence community, we assume everything digital is compromised. We use 'Multi-INT' (Multiple Intelligence) fusion. A video of a troop movement is meaningless (https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/studies-in-intelligence/archives/vol-65-no-2/multi-int-fusion/). But if we have a video, *plus* satellite thermal imaging of the area, *plus* intercepted radio chatter, *plus* a human asset on the ground, and they all align, then it's real. Civilians will have to adopt a 'Multi-INT' mindset. A ...

We are returning to a pre-Gutenberg epistemology. For the last 150 years, we trusted the *medium* (a photograph, a video, a printed newspaper) as proof of reality (https://www.cjr.org/tow_center_reports/the-end-of-photographic-truth.php). Before photography, you didn't trust the medium; you trusted the *messenger*. If a trusted elder said it happened, it happened. AI destroys the credibility of the medium. We will revert to trusting the messenger. You won't believe a video because you saw it; yo...

The most dangerous deepfakes aren't political; they are financial (https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/fbi-warns-of-virtual-kidnapping-extortion-scams). 'Virtual Kidnapping' is exploding. Attackers clone a child's voice from their public TikToks, call the parents, spoof the caller ID, and demand a ransom while playing the cloned voice screaming for help. The parents panic and wire the money. In a state of sheer terror, no one is checking for cryptographic watermarks. We need safe words. Every famil...

@DefenseContractor Yes, we are expecting too much. The human brain does not have the bandwidth to perform 'Multi-INT fusion' on every TikTok video they scroll past. People will just default to believing whatever confirms their existing worldview. It's called 'Confirmation Bias, ' and deepfakes are its ultimate weapon.

@MediaHistorian This is exactly how my generation consumes news. We don't trust CNN or Fox News, and we definitely don't trust random viral videos. We trust specific independent creators on YouTube or TikTok who have built a multi-year track record of not lying to us. Reputation is the only currency left.