Dale Blasingame, an assistant professor of practice in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State University, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast to discuss the era of deep fakes.

Deep fakes refer to the use of artificial intelligence applications to create convincing, lifelike audio and video reproductions of individuals, often celebrities. Crucially, the deep fakes can behave in ways without the approval or consent of the individual being faked and can be misused for fake product endorsements, political gain or even pornography. The technology behind deep fakes is advancing so rapidly that even experts are finding it increasing difficult to tell the difference between fakes and reality.

Blasingame received the 2017 Presidential Excellence Award for Teaching and the 2023 Presidential Excellence Award for Service at TXST. He is a part of the Digital Media Innovation faculty, and he teaches courses that introduce students to different aspects of how technology is changing journalism, media and marketing. Before joining TXST, Blasingame was a television news producer. He spent nine years at WOAI-TV in San Antonio, where he won two Lone Star Emmy awards and was nominated for a third. Before that, he was a news anchor and sports reporter for KTSA-AM in San Antonio. Blasingame is a member of the Online News Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

FURTHER READING:

What to know about the rise of AI deepfakes
California Bans Political ‘Deepfakes’ during Election Season
AI is fuelling a deepfake porn crisis in South Korea. What’s behind it – and how can it be fixed?