Capstone Thesis Project

  Distorted Intrusions touches on the intricacies of how A.I. (artificial intelligence) Deepfake Pornography exploits women with a click of a button. The framework of this project reflects on this societal issue by bringing it into a physical format to give the audience a chance to connect with the victims and hear their voices. While also bringing awareness of this growing issue to all women and people, that they could be next. 

  How are AI-driven deepfakes harmful and impacting women? It is the question people would hope not to have to ask but is now being asked by women nationwide. Deep Fakes are falsified videos or images created by artificial intelligence or similar platforms and are surfacing and evolving at an alarming rate. The technology has advanced so far that frequently, it’s almost impossible for the untrained eye to determine whether the image or video is, in fact, real or fake. The most disturbing fact is that the majority of the victims of deepfakes are women who have their images manipulated by men, who use them to fulfill their dark sexual fantasies. My project explores how this dark evolution in AI is not only impacting women through a new and sinister form of objectification but also how it raises serious ethical questions about the double standard and consequences for those who create them, as well as what can be done to combat this growing epidemic. 

  With AI rapidly becoming the most influential platform of today, it raises the question of how the technology is being utilized beyond academia and simple question-and-response inquiries. Deepfakes “are hyper-realistic video, images, and sound forgeries created using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms. Types of deepfake videos include face-swapping, puppets (the person depicted mirrors the video’s creator), or the addition of completely synthetic content to a video (Dauer).” The creation of Deep Fakes highlights how men are using the evolving technology of AI to objectify women while simultaneously ruining their reputations. The history behind AI and deepfakes and the laws surrounding it are crucial to understanding how it transitioned from a tool designed to improve the lives of those using it to one that men now abuse to sexually objectify women.