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TRUVACE RECORD VERSION
record: TRV-2026-0364
version: 1
kind: certified
reason: Certified into the record
timestamp: 2026-07-20T09:07:08.599786Z
status: published
lens: trace
sector: policy
headline: Decent deepfakes? Professional deepfake developers’ ethical considerations and their governance potential
dek: Abstract Policymakers and societies are grappling with the question of how to respond to deepfakes, i.e., synthetic audio-visual media which is proliferating in all areas of digital life– from politics to pornography. However, debates and research on deepfakes’ impact and governance largely neglect the technology’s sources, namely the developers of the underlying artificial intelligence (AI), and those who provide code or deepfake creation services to others, making the technology widely accessible. These actors…
gain_title: Professional deepfake developers' ethical values can inform governance measures that directly address developers and providers to curb dangers of synthetic media.
problem_title: Synthetic audio-visual deepfakes are proliferating across digital life, creating governance challenges for policymakers and societies.
trace_subject: development and governance of deepfake synthetic media
gain_reading: Professional deepfake developers' ethical values can inform governance measures that directly address developers and providers to curb dangers of synthetic media.
gain_evidence: emphasize the potential of ethics to curb the dangers of deepfakes | highlighting governance measures which directly address deepfake developers and providers
problem_reading: Synthetic audio-visual deepfakes are proliferating across digital life, creating governance challenges for policymakers and societies.
problem_evidence: Policymakers and societies are grappling with the question of how to respond to deepfakes
quick_read: Published September 2024, this peer-reviewed study interviewed ten academic and commercial deepfake developers and ethics representatives to understand what values guide professional development of synthetic audio-visual media and how incentives shape their sense of agency.

It matters because developers control which AI models are built and released and what kinds of deepfakes can be created, yet governance discussions have largely excluded them; the small interview sample means findings are exploratory rather than representative of the broader developer ecosystem.
limitation: Findings are based on a small qualitative sample of ten expert interviews, limiting generalizability to all developer populations.
tag: Automated dual reading
key_points: Study examines values guiding professional deepfake development and how economic and academic pressures influence agency and ethical views. | Focuses on open-source developers, large technology companies, specialized start-ups, and deepfake apps that make creation widely accessible. | Findings based on ten qualitative in-depth expert interviews with academic and commercial developers and ethics representatives.
rundown: The paper argues debates on deepfake impact and governance have neglected the sources of the technology, including those who provide code or creation services that make it widely accessible.

It investigates how developers' values, derived from AI ethics debates, and economic and academic incentives affect decisions about which underlying AI technologies are developed and made public.
sources:
- peer_reviewed | AI and Ethics | https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-024-00542-2 | 2024-09-25
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