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I assume you're joking, but I have to imagine we're not far away from Deep Fakes being used by state actors to manipulate the public. The technology is getting better and better.
I wonder how far we are from forging a voice being as difficult as forging a signature. Hopefully that's paired with widespread doubt about it as a method of authentication, but you still hear (occasional) stories about forged signatures being used for fraud in the age of photocopiers.
OpenAI were recommending phasing out voice auth back in March, passably mimicking voices is now extremely accessible. Current TTS can't replicate more subtle mannerisms and tics, but human mimicry and speech-to-speech gets you most of the way there.
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Our whole system is built with toothpicks and rubber bands. The idea that a signature or a docusign means anything is farcical. Biden's signature didn't even look right on the Twitter JPEG. (Note: I'm not claiming its false – only that it shows just how bad a signature is as a form of ID verification).
It's funny how much of our fintech stack is built on obsolete technology. I've had trouble doing a Zelle bank transfer for $1200. On the other hand, my handwritten $400,000 check goes right through no problem with nary a notification.
Our best defense against cyberattacks is also the President's best defense against assassination: only stupid and crazy people ever try. So maybe that's some relief. Even when Deep Fakes are easy, reputable people might just not do it.
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Consider this synthetic shitpost: https://x.com/EndWokeness/status/1815137702561689866#m
You can tell from the x.com username that this is obviously going to be a fake, and the word choices and speech pacing make it even more clear. But for someone without such an idiosyncratic speech rhythm and reputation for stumbling and mumbling? We're well past "you can fool some people some of the time" and probably even "you can fool most people some of the time". I'd say we're at "you can fool most people most of the time" now, and it will only get worse.
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