When and how will the law wake up to deepfake technology?

Deepfake technology is here to stay, with all its advantages and disadvantages. How will the legal policy landscape deal with it?

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IN a recent post circulating widely on various social media platforms, popular Indian actress Rashmika Mandana is seen walking into an elevator sporting a black body-hugging swimsuit.

On the face of it, there is nothing wrong with the video. Actresses wearing swimsuits accentuating their décolletage has gained an edge of banality. Some might even think that it was part of the promotion of her upcoming big-banner film Animal.

But the catch is that Mandana is not the real and actual subject of the video. Her face has been morphed on top of the torso of a British Indian influencer named Zara Patel.

It is a fine (or disquieting, depending on which side of the divide you are) example of deepfakes— images and videos produced by artificial intelligence (AI)-powered digital tools to demonstrate non-existent humans or real individuals in unique set-ups.

The morphed post managed to elicit a flurry of responses due to the fact that the torso of the actress was seamlessly blended into someone else's physique. As AI technology keeps developing, what lies ahead when the line between fact and fiction is smudged further?