Zerodha's Nithin Kamath shares his own deepfake to highlight concerns
What's the story
Nithin Kamath, co-founder and CEO of Zerodha, posted a deepfake video of himself on X presumably speaking on a podcast. Through the post and the video, he voiced his concerns about the growing threat of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology and deepfakes to the financial services industry. Highlighting the role of digital onboarding in India's financial landscape, Kamath emphasized the challenges financial institutions could confront in verifying the authenticity of customers in an era where deepfakes continue to advance.
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Deepfakes threaten digital onboarding process
Kamath pointed how digital onboarding, powered by technologies such as Aadhaar, has significantly helped Indian financial companies. But this change has a big challenge: making sure that people opening new accounts are genuine. Right now, the usual way involves getting ID or address proof using tools like DigiLocker and Aadhaar. Then, there's facial recognition through webcams to confirm identities.
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Bigger problems for banks
Kamath expressed concern about how rapidly deepfake technology is advancing. He foresees a time when telling apart real people from AI-made copies will be really tough. "This problem will be bigger for banks that have more stringent regulatory requirements during onboarding," Kamath wrote in this post. "It will be interesting to see how the regulations around this evolve."
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Kamath's video itself is a deepfake
He also highlighted the potential impact on regulations and the industry's growth. "Going back to the physical way of opening accounts will bring the growth of the entire sector to an abrupt stop," he said. And just before wrapping up his post, he stunned the internet by saying that "the video isn't me; it is a deepfake."
Twitter Post
Check out Kamath's post
The rise of AI technology and deepfakes pose a large risk to the financial services industry.
— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) December 13, 2023
The tipping point for Indian financial services businesses was when onboarding became completely digital, thanks to Aadhaar, etc. For businesses onboarding a new customer, an important… pic.twitter.com/DI9Z1Q3jxY