A Ukrainian YouTuber is exposing the horrors of generative AI tools after she came across videos of ''herself'' on Chinese social media. 21-year-old Olga Loiek, who studies at the University of Pennsylvania, was left shocked after she spotted AI clones of herself selling Russian goods on Chinese social media. She is now fighting against the propaganda campaign that has stolen her identity.
''I could see my face and hear my voice. But it was all very creepy because I saw myself saying things that I never said,'' the 21-year-old told the BBC.
''I don't want anyone to think that I ever said these horrible things in my life. Using a Ukrainian girl for a face promoting Russia. It's crazy,'' she added.
As per news.com.au, she found herself featuring in 4900 videos across 35 accounts, all promoting the Chinese-Russian alliance and Russian products. This Russian version of her goes by several names, including Sofia, Natasha, April, and Stacy.
In one such video, ''Natasha'' would say things like ''Russia is the best country. Sadly, other countries are turning away from Russia, and Russian women want to come to China'', before promoting products like Russian candies.
In all these videos, her clone was seen speaking fluent Mandarin, a language that she doesn't know.
Ms Loiek recounted how she first became aware of her "clones" when followers alerted her to their existence. After digging deeper, she found her likeness being used to promote Russian products in China, perpetuating narratives of Sino-Russian friendship. She said the clones' messages infuriated her, especially with Ukraine being at war with Russia since 2022.
The YouTuber said she is ''100% sure'' that she will not be the last victim of generative AI, but she is doing her best to warn others.
''I wanted to share my story, I wanted to make sure that people will understand that not everything that you're seeing online is real. I love sharing my ideas with the world, and none of these fraudsters can stop me from doing that,'' she said.
AI experts say Ms Loiek is taking the best course of action available by drawing attention to the deepfakes and asking her followers to report them.
Meanwhile, Angela Zhang, of the University of Hong Kong, says what happened to Olga is ''very common in China''. The country is ''home to a vast underground economy specialising in counterfeiting, misappropriating personal data, and producing deepfakes'', she said.
