The unethical nature of sexualized deepfake content has been a point of online conversation this week after Twitch streamer Atrioc accidentally showed a website dedicated to the content while on stream.
Despite a quick and thorough apology, the creator’s reputation is likely forever tarnished, and many women in the streaming industry have spoken out against the content that uses their likeness without their consent to create inappropriate depictions.
While there isn’t much psychological research on this form of sexual exploitation yet, psychiatrist Dr. Alok Kanojia, who is also known for his mental health company Healthy Gamer, tried to explain exactly what makes the practice unethical.
“What do you think would be the psychological impact on you if you saw yourself engaging in a sexual act that you have no memory of?” he said. “Something about this example, I hope, makes you feel icky. … This is the closest way that I can imagine to try to equate deepfake pornography to an actual experience.”
Similar to the way that Ludwig recently released a video highlighting the comments of women in response to Atrioc’s scandal, Dr. K said the opinions of victims are most important in understanding the effects of deepfake pornography.
“What does it do to the human mind to see yourself having sex with someone that you never agreed to have sex with?” he said. “I have no idea, and neither do you. The experts in this are actually the victims because they’re the ones whose brains are actually seeing this stuff. They’re the ones who are feeling these feelings, and the research suggests it’s actually pretty fucking bad.”
