In a recent interview with Lester Holt of NBC News, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella addressed the significant concern surrounding nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfake images, particularly in light of the viral AI-generated fake nude pictures of Taylor Swift. These images, which had amassed over 27 million views by Thursday, appeared on a platform identified as X. The incident escalated when Swift’s fans mass-reported the account, leading to its suspension. However, X has not issued a statement regarding these deepfakes, and Swift’s representative chose not to comment publicly.
Nadella described the deepfake images as “alarming and terrible,” emphasizing the urgent need for Microsoft to respond swiftly. This incident intersects with Microsoft’s significant role in AI technology development. The company is not only a primary investor in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, but also develops its own AI tools, including Copilot, an AI chatbot tool integrated into Microsoft’s search engine, Bing.
“Yes, we have to act,” said Nadella, responding to a question about the deepfakes of Swift. “I think we all benefit when the online world is a safe world. And so I don’t think anyone would want an online world that is completely not safe for both content creators and content consumers. So therefore, I think it behooves us to move fast on this.”
“I go back to what I think’s our responsibility, which is all of the guardrails that we need to place around the technology so that there’s more safe content that’s being produced,” Nadella continued. “And there’s a lot to be done and a lot being done there.”
Nadella also added that the importance of a global and societal convergence on certain norms. He noted that when law, law enforcement, and tech platforms collaborate, they have the potential to govern more effectively than they often give themselves credit for.
The source of the deepfake images has been a point of contention. A report by 404 Media suggested that the images originated from a Telegram group chat, where users claimed to have used Microsoft’s generative AI tool, Designer, to create them. While NBC News has not independently confirmed this claim, Microsoft, in response to 404 Media, stated that it was investigating these reports and would take necessary actions.
Nadella’s remarks indicate a growing concern in the tech industry about the ethical implications and potential misuse of AI technologies. This issue mirrors broader discussions in the AI community, as highlighted in an article from the AI Insider, which explores the influence of deepfakes and AI in content production within the influencing industry. Nadella’s comments reflect the industry’s responsibility to address and mitigate the harmful effects of these technologies.
In a statement to 404 Media, Microsoft said:
“Our Code of Conduct prohibits the use of our tools for the creation of adult or non-consensual intimate content, and any repeated attempts to produce content that goes against our policies may result in loss of access to the service. We have large teams working on the development of guardrails and other safety systems in line with our responsible AI principles, including content filtering, operational monitoring and abuse detection to mitigate misuse of the system and help create a safer environment for users.”
Following the publication of this article, Microsoft issued an updated statement, saying:
“We take these reports very seriously and are committed to providing a safe experience for everyone. We have investigated these reports and have not been able to reproduce the explicit images in these reports. Our content safety filters for explicit content were running and we have found no evidence that they were bypassed so far. Out of an abundance of caution, we have taken steps to strengthen our text filtering prompts and address the misuse of our services.”
Featured image: Credit: NBC News
