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Comment and Technology

Combatting deepfakes is an evolutionary arms race

Disinformation is far older than humans. Lessons from evolutionary biology can help defend against it today, says Jonathan R. Goodman

By Jonathan R. Goodman

13 March 2024

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Simone Rotella

THE recent “Willy’s Chocolate Experience” in Glasgow, UK, brought children to tears, angered parents and was a source of mirth for those who read about it. After seeing online advertising for an apparently lavish event, people paid up to £35 each to attend. But it wasn’t as promised: instead of wondrous creations and an abundance of chocolate, families arrived at a mostly abandoned warehouse featuring a sad-looking bouncy castle and confused actors.

When news networks looked into the event, it emerged that the marketing materials – and the actors’ scripts – were produced by artificial intelligence. The advertising created…

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