Safety
Deepfake
AI-generated media — usually video or audio — that convincingly impersonates a real person saying or doing something they didn't.
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In plain English
A deepfake is a synthetic image, video, or audio clip created by AI to make it look or sound like a specific real person. The term combines "deep learning" and "fake."
How they're made: Modern deepfakes use generative models (GANs and diffusion models) trained on photos or recordings of the target person. With enough source material, the model can produce new content from scratch.
Why they're a problem:
- Disinformation — fake political speeches, fabricated news clips
- Fraud — voice-cloned calls impersonating CEOs or family members
- Non-consensual imagery — used to harass or extort
- Erosion of trust — when anything can be faked, real evidence loses credibility
Detection and watermarking are active research areas, and major AI providers now label or restrict synthetic media generation of real people.
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Related terms
Voice Cloning
AI that learns to mimic a specific person's voice from a short sample, then generates new speech in that voice from any text.
Diffusion Model
The type of AI model behind most modern image and video generators — it learns to create content by reversing a noising process.
Generative AI
AI systems that create new content — text, images, audio, video, or code — rather than just classifying or predicting from existing data.
Alignment
The challenge of making AI systems behave in ways that match human values and intentions — not just their literal instructions.
Back to glossaryLast reviewed May 2026