Japanese man is the first suspect ever arrested for using deepfake tech to de-pixelate porn
By Ryan General
A Japanese man was arrested on Monday after he effectively removed pixelated parts in censored domestically produced porn videos using artificial intelligence.
Abuse of tech power: Masayuki Nakamoto, a 43-year-old website owner from Hyogo prefecture, was apprehended for using deepfake technology in reversing pixelation in Japanese adult videos and then reselling the videos to willing buyers, reported VICE.
- Nakamoto took pixelated clips of adult video stars from porn videos and manipulated them with machine-learning software.
- The same method that creates realistic face swaps allowed Nakamoto to reconstruct blurred porn clips by taking samples from a library of uncensored content he sourced online.
- Japanese adult videos often blur actors’ private parts as a local obscenity law forbids explicit depictions of genitalia.
Getting caught: Nakamoto was arrested after police conducted a “cyber patrol” on him and he was caught selling 10 edited images at about 2,300 yen (around $20) each.
- It was revealed that Nakamoto has so far made about 11 million yen (around $96,300) selling over 10,000 manipulated videos.
- Nakamoto, who admitted to simulating pornographic videos for money, pleaded guilty to charges of copyright violation and displaying obscene images on his website.
- Lawyer Daisuke Sueyoshi told VICE World News that Nakamoto’s case was the first of its kind in which an AI user was caught.
- However, the lack of legislation spared Nakamoto from being charged with any offenses for violating the privacy of the actors in his manipulated videos.
The use of AI in manipulating video, which is doubling every six months, has raised concerns for its potential abuse, particularly when privacy, sexual exploitation, copyright and artistic expression are involved.
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