Imagine waking up to find that your identity has been hijacked by an AI, morphing your likeness into an entirely different persona without your consent. That's exactly what happened to Babydoll Archi, an Instagram sensation whose very existence is based on a deepfake!

Babydoll Archi skyrocketed to fame almost overnight, amassing an astonishing 1.4 million followers on Instagram. Her rise can be attributed to a seductive dance video set to a Romanian hit, Dame Un Grr, and a cheeky photo shared with American adult film star Kendra Lust, both of which sent the internet into a frenzy. But behind the glamor of viral fame lurks a disturbing reality: there’s no real woman named Babydoll Archi. Instead, the vibrant account was fabricated using the likeness of a regular homemaker from Dibrugarh, Assam, known here as Sanchi.

The shocking revelation came to light after Sanchi's brother filed a police report, igniting an investigation that unveiled the sinister machinations of Pratim Bora, her ex-boyfriend. As the investigation unfolded, Senior Police Officer Sizal Agarwal disclosed that Bora had crafted the deepfake profile out of spite after their relationship soured. This skilled mechanical engineer, who dabbled in artificial intelligence, exploited Sanchi's private photos to create the faux persona, aiming to exact what he considered "pure revenge." What’s even more chilling is that he utilized advanced AI tools like ChatGPT to enhance the deceptive images and videos of Babydoll Archi.

It turns out that Sanchi had no clue about the fake account until it began to gain significant traction this year, despite the initial uploads dating back to 2020. The police were not unfamiliar with the name Babydoll Archi; they had heard speculation about her potentially being AI-generated but hadn’t connected it to a real person until the complaint was lodged. The urgency escalated when they sought Instagram’s help to track down the account’s creator, leading them to Bora's doorstep.

Upon his arrest on July 12, police confiscated various electronic devices and discovered that Bora had monetized the account, reportedly earning around 1 million rupees in just five days. As for Sanchi, she’s been left devastated but is now receiving counseling, and her family is rallying around her during this troubling time.

While there’s little that can be done to prevent such digital impersonations, Officer Agarwal expressed that swifter action might have curtailed the account's explosive growth. Sanchi, who has no social media presence herself, was completely blindsided until the scandal erupted. In a world where deepfake technology poses real threats, this story serves as a chilling reminder of the dangers lurking in our digital lives.

Despite Meta (formerly Facebook) typically prohibiting nudity and sexual content, the ongoing challenge of regulating deepfakes remains paramount. As reports surface about the removal of ads promoting AI tools for creating explicit content, the question looms: how do we protect individuals from becoming the unwitting stars of a digital nightmare?