A Life of Metacrime: Drawing Parallels between Deepfakes and Avatars

• Author: Agnes Venema

Speaker

Agnes Venema is a prominent figure in the fields of deepfakes and security policy, serving as a dedicated researcher at the Romanian National Intelligence Academy and the University of Malta in Valletta. With a robust background in interdisciplinary systems thinking, Agnes's expertise lies at the juncture of security, technology, and law. Her work revolves around investigating the utilization of emerging disruptive technologies (EDTs), particularly in the realm of AI and Machine Learning.

Drawing upon her extensive knowledge of human rights, Agnes specializes in assessing the legal ramifications associated with the deployment of these technologies and tools, offering invaluable policy advice. Her ongoing projects are centered on deepfakes, foresight, hybrid threats, and the utilization of technology for the identification of individuals as part of counter-terrorism endeavors.

Agnes's areas of expertise encompass emerging disruptive technologies, with a specific focus on their applications in security environments. She is well-versed in intelligence and national security matters, and she boasts a deep understanding of international law, spanning human rights, humanitarian law, and international criminal law. Her proficiency in policy advice, as well as her involvement in security sector governance and reform (SSG/R) and the rule of law, makes her an indispensable figure in the arena of deepfakes and security policy.

Topic

This presentation delves into a critical examination of the intriguing parallels that exist between avatars within the metaverse and the controversial realm of deepfakes. It underscores the profound implications that both avatars and deepfakes can have on processes that are fundamentally reliant on trust.

Avatars, these digital representations of individuals in virtual worlds, have evolved to become complex extensions of people's identities. They offer individuals the opportunity to curate and portray an idealized version of themselves, often resulting in a divergence between the virtual and real-world persona. In a similar vein, deepfakes, which employ advanced AI and machine learning techniques to manipulate video or...