The Influence of the Recipients’ Affinity for Technology on the Perception of Deepfakes.
Master thesis by Felix Kleine
3. Semester, 2022
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Sebastian Pranz
Media, Technology and Society
Problem and initial situation
Originally, the term „Deepfake“ was thought to be the replacement or substitution of faces, facial features or facial expressions by artificial intelligence (AI). Currently, it is possible to change entire bodies and voices in audiovisual media content. The paper deals with the problem of how deepfakes are perceived by recipients. It examines to what extent perception depends on the viewer’s self-assessed affinity for technology.
Methods
First, an overview of the technical basics and the possible potential of deepfake technology is given. Then, after a detailed literature review on deepfakes, the research question is derived and seven hypotheses are established.
RQ: Does the recipient’s affinity for technology have an influence on the perception of
deepfakes?
H1: There are no significant differences in the participants‘ self-assessed affinity for technology values depending on the age.
H2: There is no significant correlation between the participants‘ self-assessed affinity for technology values and their level of education.
H3: The participants‘ self-assessment of their affinity for technology results in a higher mean value for male participants in contrast to female participants.
H4: The participants of the group with a high affinity for technology consider the deepfake advertisement after the treatment as authentic as before the treatment.
H5: The participants of the group with a high affinity for technology are on average more familiar with the term „Deepfake“ than others.
H6: There is no correlation between the ATI value and the impression of the term „Deepfake“.
H7: The participants of the group with a high affinity for technology see a lower risk in the use of deepfake technology.
For the investigation, a questionnaire was designed including the ATI scale for measuring the affinity for technology. A within-subject design with an information text made it possible to measure the perception of authenticity towards the deepfake. An advertising video served as a deepfake example. The online survey, in which 199 German-speaking participants took part, was statistically evaluated and interpreted.
Results
The findings produced by the questionnaire contribute to the research on the perception of deepfakes. It has been shown that the field of synthetic media is still quite young and constantly progressing. It urgently needs more attention, not only in research, but also in legislation as well as in the commercial marketing of tangible goods and services.
Summarising the study’s outcome, it was found that the participants‘ affinity for technology had little influence on the perception of deepfakes. Male test persons considered themselves to be more tech-savvy than females. The participants with a higher affinity for technology had more background knowledge of the topic, were more impressed by the deepfake technology and tended to perceive the term „Deepfake“ less negatively. Even though half of the participants are generally against the use of deepfakes in advertisements, a high level of fascination for the technology is evident. Of the alternative terms mentioned in the questionnaire, the term „AI-generated media“ was selected by the majority of the participants to be the term that best described the new technology and was perceived as the least negatively.
Conclusion and Prospects
The influence of technology affinity on the authenticity assessment and the risk assessment of deepfakes could not be proven. In general, trust in detection software as a countermeasure is low and almost all participants would like to see a label when deepfake technology is used in advertisements. Half of the respondents find the use of deepfakes in advertisements unacceptable, regardless of the product. The lowest acceptance, however, concerns products and services in the area of gambling, cosmetics, and hygiene and cleaning products. Here, the majority rejects deepfake technology in advertisements. In contrast, the rejection does not seem to be as strong for products and services in the areas of electronics, motor vehicles, and tourism. The work provides new insights into the current perception of deepfake technology in advertisements. Many people are still very sceptical about the technology, even though a fascination for it can be seen. The potential in marketing should also have become clear.