and that may suggest that we are going

to have a lighthearted episode,

but that's not the case.

On the contrary, because the pop icon has been the subject of one of the most

traumatizing experiences that anyone can live through online

in relation to AI and new technology.

Taylor Swift was the victim of the creation of non-consensual

sexually explicit content or a pornographic deepfake.

Now, the term deepfake may ring a bell

because we've talked about the more

convincing messages that generative AI

can create in the context of election manipulation, disinformation.

And that is indeed a grave concern of mine.

But when you look at the numbers, the vast majority of deepfakes

online are of a pornographic nature.

And when those are non-consensual,

imagine, for example,

when it's not a pop icon that everybody knows

and can come to the rescue for,

but a young teenager

who is faced with a deepfake porn image of themselves,

classmates sharing it, you can well imagine the deep trauma

and stress this causes, and we know that this kind of practice

has unfortunately led to self-harm among young people as well.

So it is high time

that tech companies do more, take more responsibility

for preventing this kind of terrible nonconsensual use of their products

and the ensuing sharing and virality online.

So if there's one silver lining to this

otherwise very depressing experience of Taylor Swift than it is

that she and her followers may be able to do what few have managed to succeed in,

which is to move Congress to pass legislation.

There seems to be bipartisan movement and all I can hope is that it will lead

to better protection of people from the worst practices of generative AI.