A Russian AI Expert Says Deepfake Defense Is Now a Global Priority

As generative AI races ahead, so do the risks—and one of Russia’s top tech voices is sounding the alarm. Stanislav Kuznetsov, Deputy Chairman of Sberbank, took the stage at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) with a blunt message: invest in deepfake defense, or risk falling behind cybercriminals

“The ability to mimic faces and voices with near-perfect accuracy is no longer a futuristic threat—it’s already here,” Kuznetsov warned. Thanks to advanced neural networks, AI-generated impersonations are becoming indistinguishable from reality, creating a fast-growing arsenal for fraud, blackmail, and disinformation.

He predicted that in just a few years, deepfake detection technologies will be essential, not just in Russia but worldwide. As AI begins to erase language barriers—allowing real-time multilingual communication—it will also amplify the potential for abuse, enabling scammers to operate seamlessly across borders and cultures.

Kuznetsov’s bottom line? Cybersecurity must evolve at the speed of AI. Without serious investment in AI-specific protections, society risks being blindsided by synthetic manipulation at scale.

Meanwhile, digital hygiene is more important than ever. Russian cybersecurity experts are urging users to lock down their social media profiles—especially photo albums. The reason: scammers are scraping images to fabricate fake, often intimate, photos used for extortion.

As AI gets smarter, so must the systems—and people—meant to keep it in check. In the new digital arms race, security isn't optional—it's survival tech.