Let’s consider two individuals A and B.

A is a mentally healthy person living a fulfilling life. Will watching a disturbing deepfake affect A severely enough to cause them to commit suicide? No.

B leads a life of extreme isolation and faces troubling financial difficulties. They come across a deepfake that pushes them over the edge at the wrong time and they give up on their life. Is the deepfake to blame? Or were there more important factors that we could’ve focused on to save B and potentially thousands of others.

And since we’re discussing the unintended consequences of deepfakes, let’s not forget that a carefully crafted one can even save lives hypothetically.