Kenya’s Battle for Digital Integrity
By Maurine Ngari, Student, KCAU As artificial intelligence continues to transform possibilities, the rapid and unpredictable pace of technological advancement leaves the world grappling with a delicate balance between innovation and misinformation. At least 75% of Kenyan news consumers cannot distinguish between real and fake news on social media. This is according to a survey by Reuters institute Kenya is not being left behind and has found itself at the crossroads of both. Deepfake technology is considered one of the controversial advancements in artificial intelligence. This synthetic media manipulates images, videos, and audio to come up with hyper-realistic but falsified content. Whereas deepfakes offer endless exciting possibilities for entertainment and education, on the other hand, they pose serious threats to democracy and governance, and the damage is irreversible. Deepfake technology has been employed in Kenya's politics to disseminate misinformation. Politicians, acti...