- Singapore police charge a man over a deepfake AI image
- The picture shows a crocodile in a public recreation area
- A total of 10 years of jail time could be attached to the charges
We know that AI apps can produce images that are often indistinguishable from real photos, and these pictures may get you into trouble with the law too: a man in Singapore faces a jail term of up to 10 years after allegedly sharing an AI-generated image of a crocodile in a popular public recreational area.
The man is Ye Lin, a 30-year-old from Myanmar (via PetaPixel), and the area is Pandan Reservoir. After the picture was shared on August 20, Singapore's national water agency shut down rowing and canoeing activities on the water while trying to find the semiaquatic reptile.
After determining the image was fake, the agency reported Ye Lin to the police, and the man could now be looking at a serious stretch inside when he turns up to court in November. On the charge of sending a false message, Ye Lin could face up to three years in prison, a fine of up to S$10,000 (about $7,835 / £5,895 / AU$11,235), or both.
Then there's the charge of obstructing justice, which can put you inside for up to seven years, lead to a fine (though it's not clear how much), or both. The accused man is reportedly planning to plead guilty and will be hoping the judicial system takes a lenient view on his AI deepfakery.
Communicating falsehoods
"The Police will not hesitate to take action against anyone who communicates falsehoods," said the Singapore Police Force in a statement. "Apart from causing fear and inconvenience to members of the public, such falsehoods also result in public resources being unnecessarily deployed to deal with these incidents."
It's not immediately clear how the image came to be widely circulated: according to the police, Ye Lin only shared the image with one of his colleagues rather than posting it online. He then deleted the image and the Gemini app he used to make it "in an attempt to conceal his actions" the police said.
The reactions online show some sympathy for Ye Lin, with many arguing that the original offense wasn't particularly egregious, especially as he didn't share the image widely. However, questions are being asked about why the man didn't step in and tell the authorities the picture was faked after the reservoir was closed off.
If the image was indeed made by Gemini, as the Straits Times reports, then it should've come with an invisible, embedded watermark identifying it as being generated by AI. It's not clear whether this watermark was removed somehow, or whether no one thought to check once the picture started circulating.
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