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Cited by 131Ethics and Social Impacts of AIBioethics and Human Rights IssuesPhilosophical Ethics and Theory

Introducing the pervert’s dilemma: a contribution to the critique of Deepfake Pornography

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Öhman, Carl·2020·Ethics and Information Technology
DOI 10.1007/s10676-019-09522-1
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Abstract

Recent technological innovation has made video doctoring increasingly accessible. This has given rise to Deepfake Pornography, an emerging phenomenon in which Deep Learning algorithms are used to superimpose a person’s face onto a pornographic video. Although to most people, Deepfake Pornography is intuitively unethical, it seems difficult to justify this intuition without simultaneously condemning other actions that we do not ordinarily find morally objectionable, such as sexual fantasies. In the present article, I refer to this contradiction as the pervert’s dilemma. I propose that the method of Levels of Abstraction, a philosophical mode of enquiry inspired by Formal Methods in computer science, can be employed to formulate at least one possible solution to the dilemma. From this perspective, the permissibility of some actions appears to depend on the degree to which they are abstracted from their natural context. I conclude that the dilemma can only be solved when considered at low levels of abstractions, when Deepfakes are situated in the macro-context of gender inequality.

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Authors
Öhman, C.
Affiliations
University of Oxford (GB)
Corresponding author
Öhman, Carl
ORCID
Öhman, Carl
Venue
Ethics and Information Technology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2019-11-19
Volume
22
Issue
2
Pages
133-140
ISSN
  • 1388-1957 (ISSN-L)
  • 1572-8439
DOI
10.1007/s10676-019-09522-1
OpenAlex
W2989861661
Cited by
130
References
28
Citations by year
2026: 36 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 3
FWCI
12.67
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
Ethics and Information Technology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Ethics and Social Impacts of AI
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Bioethics and Human Rights Issues
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Philosophical Ethics and Theory
Keywords
deepfake pornography, deep learning, sexual fantasies, levels of abstraction, formal methods, gender inequality, ethics of pornography, moral intuitions

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