This AI-generated summary is based on reporting by TaiwanPlus and verified by newsroom fact checkers. Learn more about our policy here.
Taiwan Artist’s Deepfake-Themed Exhibit Explores Empathy, Judgment and Society’s Role in Online Abuse
A new art exhibition in Taipei invites visitors to step into the shoes of a victim of digital blackmail — not to relive trauma, but to examine how society responds to it.
“They told me it’s not your fault. And I told them everything would be fine.” That’s a 20-minute, single-viewer installation by Taiwanese artist Ting-Ting Cheng. The immersive experience draws inspiration from the Nth Room scandal, a massive cybersex trafficking case uncovered in South Korea. Using fictional text messages, the exhibition walks viewers through a relationship that turns sinister when the narrator’s private images are manipulated into explicit deepfakes.
The story told is not based on one person, but many. Cheng said her goal is not to reconstruct individual trauma but to highlight how society’s reactions can either empower or harm survivors.
“I kept thinking that, imagine a society [where] we don't judge anyone's nudes. Then the blackmail wouldn't work, right? If I don't mind anyone seeing my nudes, no one will judge me, I wouldn't lose my job, I wouldn't lose my degree and stuff. My family will support me. Yeah, leak it, I wouldn't care,” Cheng said. “So I feel like we kind of underestimate how powerful we are as a society. We think we are not part of this. They’re a victim, they’re a perpetrator. But I really feel like how society behaves will really influence the situation.”
The exhibition is part of RightsCon, a major global human rights conference being held in Taipei for the first time. This year’s event centers on the promises and perils of technology.
“Technology itself is neutral, but [it’s] what it is used for that can be detrimental for societies,” said Anna Marti, director at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Taipei. “We're trying to strike the balance between not painting everything in black [and white] and saying every technology is bad. Don't do it, don't use it. That would be such a loss because it can be so convenient and make our lives so much easier.”
Moderating new media products like deepfakes remains a challenge. The United Nations estimates that 16% to 58% of women have faced online gender-based violence, including stalking and harassment. Of all deepfake videos produced, 98% are pornographic and overwhelmingly target women.
Julie Ricard of the Data-Pop Alliance warned of the real-world toll such abuse can take.
“We've seen that violence that happens online and for example, deepfakes, but not only that can be used against women, [it] will have effects that come back to real life in terms of mental health effects,” she said. “And we've seen even suicide attempts of women that have been victims of deepfakes, women in politics that have withdrawn from politics. So those consequences, it's a long list.”
By simulating one person’s experience for 20 minutes, Cheng hopes viewers come away with more empathy — and less judgment — as society grapples with the ethical gaps arising from advancing technology.
04:27
02:03
01:42
00:24
03:28
02:16
00:29
03:26
01:08
01:03
00:55
00:56
00:38
01:02
02:53
01:13