The rise of generative artificial intelligence technologies represents a watershed moment in technological innovation, marked by the ability to generate digital content with unprecedented realism. Among these technologies, deepfakes—synthetically generated media that mimic real human likenesses and voices with high accuracy—pose unique challenges to the legal system. These challenges primarily revolve around the issues of authentication of evidence, raising critical questions about the integrity and admissibility of digital evidence. Attorney ethical obligations require a heightened degree of scrutiny in evaluating data.

Deepfakes utilize advanced machine learning and artificial neural networks to create or alter video and audio recordings in a way that is almost indistinguishable from real media. The increasing ease with which deepfakes can be produced threatens to compromise the traditional mechanisms that underpin the admissibility and reliability of evidence. The emergence of deepfakes represents significant challenges in the authentication of evidence presented, whether to a court or a jury. These sophisticated synthetic media can significantly distort the truth-finding function of the legal process by introducing realistic but entirely fabricated content.