The Rising Threat of Deepfakes: An Analysis of ElevenLabs’ Partnership with Reality Defender

Deepfakes have become a growing concern, especially in a crucial election year. ElevenLabs, a startup that uses artificial intelligence to clone people’s voices, has partnered with Reality Defender, a US-based company offering deepfake detection capabilities to combat this rising threat. This partnership comes after ElevenLabs’ technology was misused to create deepfake audio of US President Joe Biden. The partnership gives Reality Defender access to ElevenLabs’ data and models, making it easier to detect AI-generated audio, while ElevenLabs can use Reality Defender’s tools to boost its safeguards against misuse.

The Risk of Deepfakes

Deepfakes are created using generative AI tools, which portray individuals in false scenarios and can be used for political manipulation, such as during elections. There are also concerns about the use of deepfakes for deepfake porn, which raises privacy concerns. With the increasing risk of deepfakes, there has been a steady uptick in venture capital funding to startups that offer powerful tools for creating synthetic media.

ElevenLabs’ Technology

ElevenLabs’ voice cloning technology can clone voices for users who want to replicate their own voice in a different language. However, there have been concerns about potential misuse of their technology, especially with doctored audio circulating to thousands of voters in New Hampshire. The company has since released additional safety features, such as automatically blocking voices of political figures, personal voice verification, and a tool that detects whether a voice sample is AI-generated. The company remains committed to boosting its safety standards and making AI content detection easier, with a focus on the vital election year.

Reality Defender

Reality Defender was founded in 2021 and offers deepfake detection capabilities to governments, officials, and enterprises. The company has worked with banks, media companies, nonprofits, and government officials. The partnership with ElevenLabs gives Reality Defender access to data and models that will improve its capability to detect AI-generated audio. The company will also help ElevenLabs boost its own safeguards against misuse.

Conclusion

It is important to address the rising threat of deepfakes, especially during a crucial election year. The partnership between ElevenLabs and Reality Defender is a step towards combating the misuse of deepfake technology. However, this is an ongoing issue, and it is crucial that more effort is put into developing safeguards against the potential misuse of AI-generated media.

Originally Post From https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/technology/2024/07/18/hot-ai-startup-tied-to-fake-biden-robocall-aims-to-combat-misuse/

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