The Making of Fake Profile Images for Ethical and Unethical Purposes

As with all things, there are pros and cons, when Humans get involved with, and make use of those things. When it comes to Dall -E (2), from OpenAI, one can find no exception. As an ethical webmaster, i would never make a fake profile for nefarious purposes, but for whitehat purposes, or for testing purposes to gather experience and insights, or in a test environment, for ethical purposes, then yes, I would. In this case i create some example fake profile images with Dall-E 2, to show you just how easy it is becoming, for anyone and everyone to use or abuse AI, and as always, we will see the best, and the worst of Humanity, as we see how Humans use Dall-E in expected, and unexpected manners.

Here is a screencast of some of my experiments with fake profile image creation in Dall-E 2

Is the practice of Fake Profile Images Unethical?

Fake profile images can be used for both constructive and nefarious purposes. On the constructive side, they can be used to protect the privacy of individuals who may not want their real identity to be revealed online. For example, they can be used by activists or journalists working in countries with oppressive regimes, or by people who are subjected to harassment or bullying and want to keep their online identity separate from their offline identity.

On the nefarious side, fake profile images can be used to impersonate someone, or to create multiple fake accounts, for the purpose of scamming or defrauding others. On a worrying note, they can also be used to spread misinformation or propaganda, or to engage in cyberbullying or online harassment, and even to alter mass human perception of truth. It’s important to proceed with extreme caution when interacting with unknown people online, and to verify their identity before sharing personal information or engaging in any activities that may be sensitive or risky.