Opinion | How the Pentagon will fight “deepfakes” – with even deeper fakes

The United States has stepped up efforts against “agents of chaos” from Iran, Russia, North Korea and China, using AI-driven programs on social media to spread disinformation and sow discord, including influencing elections.

In September, officials warned in an election-related press conference held jointly by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that “deepfakes” had become an “accelerator of malicious influence.”

Last year, a joint statement from the FBI, the National Security Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said: “Synthetic media such as deepfakes pose a growing challenge to all users of modern technology and communications.”

Its global distribution, they claimed, provides an opportunity for malicious actors to use the technology to target U.S. interests.

The Pentagon has a program in collaboration with the private sector to develop deepfake detection software to counter such online wars by America’s adversaries.

So far, so good.