While there are a number of beneficial uses for deepfake technology — like recreating historical figures for educational environments or bringing AI-enabled, synthetic media accessibility tools to people who need them — malicious use of this technology is a concern.

Deepfakes can be used to create images and videos of anyone, including celebrities, politicians, or technology leaders, and could be used to support any agenda. Deepfakes have gotten so good that it is hard to tell the difference between real footage and digital fakes.

And as we enter the metaverse and spend more time in the virtual world, we’ll need ways to verify our identity so our interactions with others are protected and safe.

In our increasingly digitized world, we can track nearly everything. Companies are tracking workers’ keystrokes, and police departments are using facial recognition to monitor people’s actions and movements.

This type of digital surveillance poses a threat to human rights, and opens the door to enormous potential abuse.

The United Nations (UN) has publicly condemned arbitrary and unlawful digital surveillance as an infringement on human rights. David Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, called for a moratorium on the global sales and transfer of digital surveillance tools until we can put legal policies in place to hold organizations and governments accountable for how these tools are being used.

The 10 Scariest Future Tech Trends Everyone Must Know About Right Now

Think this one’s farfetched? Think again.

Drones that work together in groups — with the help of AI — can already identify, track, and destroy targets.

At China’s Zhejiang University, scientists have developed a drone swarm capable of tracking humans through dense bamboo forests without human guidance.

Halcon, a subsidiary of UAE’s Edge Group, recently unveiled a swarming drone system known as Hunter 2-S that can share information for tracking and engaging with targets.

Drones are seen as a cost-effective way to overwhelm defenses without needing to put soldiers in harm’s way — and the implications of this type of technology are quite scary.

The 10 Scariest Future Tech Trends Everyone Must Know About Right Now

No.5 Quantum computers are innovative machines that will be able to give us computing power that is potentially a trillion times more powerful than the supercomputers we have today.

This can have enormous benefits, but quantum computing will also enable hackers to get around our traditional security systems and break into practically anything. Currently, we use advanced encryption to protect our personal, military, and commercial data — but quantum computers will be able to break right through this encryption.

Corporations and governments are starting to take this threat seriously and are putting resources into “post-quantum encryption” that will protect our most sensitive data.

#3 Merging of Humans and Machines

In many ways, we’re already seeing a merge of humans and machines. When someone has an accident and loses a limb, we can replace that limb with a prosthetic. We can also improve people’s vision with contact lenses, or even give them “super” vision or night vision using technology.

But what if this technology goes too far? The U.S. military has already created exoskeletons that seemingly give soldiers superpowers. Scientists are also working on interfaces that will potentially give us AI capabilities that fully merge humans with machines. Some companies have announced plans to develop brain-computer interfaces that can read minds.

The concern is that this technology will potentially be abused, creating a Terminator vision of the future.

 #2 Editable Humans

Thanks to CRISPR-Cas9 technology, we have the ability to change inheritable genes in plants, animals, and our own human bodies. Gene editing has incredible benefits, as it can help us fight disease, fix genetic mutations that cause devastating illnesses, eliminate food allergies, and ensure we have enough food to feed the planet.

For example, scientists are experimenting with a method for fixing a gene mutation that causes Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy – a devastating condition that results in early death. Experiments on CRISPR in mice and dogs show promise and may lead to viable human treatments for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

On the other hand, there are many concerns about the idea of changing inheritable genes forever. With CRISPR, we have the ability to manipulate genes that will get permanently incorporated into the genome and get passed on from generation to generation.

Many countries, including most of Europe, have banned germline editing because its implications are not yet fully understood — but germline editing is still legal in China and the United States. Look for more public discussion on the implications and ethics of this technology.

AI Singularity

In many aspects, artificial intelligence is becoming capable of human-level thinking. “AI singularity” is a hypothetical point in the future where AI becomes smarter than humans, but I would argue that, in some ways, we’ve already reached that tipping point.

We now have extremely powerful AI algorithms that can outperform people on many levels — and this will have an enormous impact on jobs.

Experts predict that 80 to 90% of all the current jobs in the world will be augmented by AI, and many will even become completely obsolete. We must think about how to prepare for this shift and be able to change gears to do the work that only humans are capable of doing.

source: forbes