Local industry expert warns of Artificial Intelligence dangers

VIRGINIA – As Artificial Intelligence (AI) advances, industry experts are warning of the risks now facing families.

“You’re going to see very high-quality disinformation out there in 2024,” said Cayce Myers, the director of graduate studies and a professor at Virginia Tech’s School of Communication.

While AI can be used to create harmless or funny images, experts warn the the consequences could be much more severe.

Popular scams use voice cloning or deepfake images or videos to defraud someone and scam victims out of money, sometimes even posing as someone the victim knows.

“What [scammers] are hoping is that in that, kind of, terror of that moment, the person forgets to ask pertinent questions like: ‘Who is this? What is your name?’” said Myers. “Those kind of verifiable things that you could tell if it was a deepfake or not.”

2024 is a big election year, not just in the U.S., but also around the world. Myers warns that AI could be used to spread false information or fear among voters.

“That kind of undermines the democratic process,” said Myers. “Nowadays you have to really vet what you’re watching and seeing is not necessarily believing.”

He says the problem is that the average internet user might not know everything that AI is capable of.

“We’re now to the point of where the naked eye can’t discern true or false,” said Myers.

He added that social media can make things worse.

“There’s a viral nature to that and there’s also a type of quickness to that, that doesn’t really lend itself to people saying, ‘Well, okay let me go fact-check this in order to make sure that it is real and accurate,’” he said.

AI could be even be used to defame or bully someone and Myers said parents need to beware.

His message: verify the information or image by checking multiple trusted sources because seeing isn’t always believing.