Wendy Andrews

Deepfake technology has become both increasingly effective at creating realistic audio and video images and increasingly accessible. I will present results from two studies that shed light on potential uses of charisma signaling by deepfakes. In the first study (N = 1064 online participant), we assessed to what extent people perceive deepfakes that engage in charismatic signaling as charismatic and to what extent they are convinced by their message. In the second study (N = 77 trainees, N = 308 online raters), We developed an online charisma training in which we incorporated personalized, charisma-enhanced deepfakes (i.e., manipulated videos depicting trainees engaging in charisma signaling) and assessed whether 1) we could teach trainees to effectively use Charismatic Leadership Tactics (CLTs) in a fully online training, 2) viewing charisma-enhanced deepfakes of themselves in the training enhanced trainee learning, and 3) narcissism and intelligence moderated these effects.