How AI turned a Ukrainian YouTuber into a Russian

Olga Loiek, a 21-year-old student at the University of Pennsylvania, was taken aback when she discovered her face appearing in various videos on Chinese social media. These videos featured different names like Sofia, Natasha, April, and Stacy, all speaking in Mandarin, a language Olga had never learned. The 'girls' in the videos were apparently from Russia and talked about China-Russia friendship or advertised Russian products. Olga was personally enraged by this, especially since her family is still in Ukraine. The incident has drawn attention to the dangers of generative AI tools that are developing so quickly that regulating and protecting people has become a real challenge. Olga's Mandarin-speaking AI lookalikes began emerging in 2023, soon after she started a YouTube channel. She found about 35 accounts using her likeness and discovered that more than 4,900 videos had been generated using her face. The company responsible for the tool used to create the AI likenesses claimed that their system was hacked to create 'unauthorised content' and immediately updated their security and verification protocols to prevent further abuse of their platform. However, experts warn that ordinary people like Olga remain vulnerable and are at risk of falling foul of Chinese law. They emphasize the difficulty of trying to regulate an industry that seems to be evolving at break-neck speed, and where regulators are constantly playing catch-up. Olga is determined not to let the incident chase her off the internet and has shared her experiences on her YouTube channel, with some Chinese online users helping her by commenting under the videos using her likeness and pointing out they are fake.