DSU students share AI Deepfake research in DC
March 26, 2025
A suggested proposal from SBS Cybersecurity led a team of four DSU students to present their findings at the U.S. Capitol.
Samyam Aryal, Joe Hammond, Ethan Price, and Nick Weir developed a presentation from their investigation on the ease of using Artificial Intelligence deepfakes with online video conferencing software.
Their presentation, titled “Seeing isn’t believing: real-time deepfake for video conferencing,” showcased just how easily AI deepfakes can be created and integrated into real-time video conferencing, like Zoom. The group used all open-source software, showing it can be done and at little to no cost.
The team was a bit intimidated at first “During orientation, we were all introducing ourselves, and we were from Dakota State, and then they introduced the first team from MIT and the second team from MIT, along with teams from other Ivy Leagues like Brown and Harvard,” said Samyam Aryal.At the event, their research was very popular. “There were a lot of people really interested in what we did, and the presentation went really well,” Aryal said.
“We had staffers come by who told us they were sent specifically to our booth,” Hammond said. “They wanted more information on it because they think it is a rising threat.”
However, Hammond was also surprised that some people had never heard of the technology or were unaware of the possibilities of real-time deepfakes. “This specific area seemed like it was a really big blind spot for some people,” he added.
The group also talked with Colin Raby, a congressional AI specialist, who mentioned bringing them back to the capitol for another presentation in April.
Price appreciated how grounding the experience was, helping remind them of their skill and place in the industry. The experience has also inspired Price to become involved in AI policy in the future.
“Safety is a very important field right now,” Price said. “Just because we can build these systems does not always mean that we should. And if we are going to build them, we should think about how we go about it, and what regulations should be in check.,”.
The team invites other students to stop by the AI Club meetings on Thursdays at 7 p.m. in room 112 of The Beacom Institute of Technology.
For more information on their project listen to the Feburary episode of Cyberology.