The real danger of deepfake videos is that we may question everything

FAKE videos created by artificial intelligence, known as deepfakes, are becoming incredibly convincing. They show people saying or doing things they never said or did, and recent technological leaps have made producing realistic ones easier than ever (see "AI can make high-definition fake videos from just a simple sketch"). Although having fakes masquerade as the genuine article is a risk, it may not be the main problem. Instead it could be that with such convincing fakes around, it is easier for someone to falsely dispute the authenticity of the real deal. A stark illustration of this can be found in the US, where possession of computer-generated images of child sexual abuse is treated more leniently by the courts than the real thing.