If You Ever Said Something Online, You May Want to Read This

Conversations continue about the ethical uses of AI and content created online.

Artificial intelligence has become a hot-button issue over the last year. In fact, since the AI chatbot ChatGPT premiered last November, the triumphs and pitfalls of the new technology are all anyone in any industry seems to be talking about.

The technology is being used across various markets, from personalized shopping to fraud prevention, voice assistance, and more. According to IBM, more than a third of businesses used AI technology last year. The technology is new and exciting, and it has virtually limitless possibilities for productivity -- and for error.

The first signs of controversy regarding AI-created content started to crop up in 2018 in the same place that many of the internet's technological advancements starts -- in pornography. Deepfake videos built with AI technology allowed users to create realistic-looking pornography using virtually anyone's face. Four years later, near the end of 2022, real-life artists quickly noticed that AI generators were mimicking their styles. 

There are several ethical concerns with the data being fed to AI generators and how that data is then openly used. While some AI companies are taking various precautions to prevent misuse of the budding technology, it's a little like the Wild West out there. And a recent round of online harassment illustrates the need for moderation in this new frontier.

Trolls Use AI Generators to Copy Voices, Dox Performers

If your voice exists somewhere out there on the internet, it can be used to create harassment speech. A handful of actors discovered this after some 4chan members created replicas of their voices saying some horrible things.

Twitter accounts were created to share clips sharing the actors’ private information using an AI-generated voice. The actors, best known for past work in the video games industry, were targeted by online trolls after expressing their concerns about AI technology, according to Motherboard.

In one case, Twitter removed a tweet after it was reported and suspended a profile involved. But in other cases, the company has failed to remove the tweets despite a clear violation of its privacy policies.

The generator the harasser claims to be using is called ElevenLabs. The company has responded to the attacks, decrying online harassment and doubling down on its intention to create more safeguards to prevent users from misusing its AI technology. The company also insists that, despite claims in the tweet, its technology was not used to create the threatening messages.

Major Companies And Personalities Weigh In On AI Technology

Despite misuse, major players in the tech industry are speaking up about the possibilities of AI. Microsoft  (MSFT) - Get Free Report has made significant investments in OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Alphabet  (GOOGL) - Get Free Report recently fast-tracked its own competing technology called Bard to prevent Bing from stepping on its position as the biggest online search destination. Apple  (AAPL) - Get Free Report co-founder Steve Wozniak recently acknowledged that AI generators will always be limited by the absence of one key component--humanity.

"The computer will never equal the brain. I was very negative at first on any human-made technology being equivalent to nature. So it'll never be equal." With regards to what AI can do for humanity, he says “It's pretty impressive, but the trouble is, it does good things for us, but it can make horrible mistakes by not knowing what humanness is." As AI continues to develop, that very humanness may be needed to moderate its use and keep creators safe online.