A book by Aaron Painter · Fast Company Press
Deepfaked
Restoring Trust in the Age of AI Impersonation
A book by Aaron Painter · Fast Company Press
Restoring Trust in the Age of AI Impersonation
What readers are saying
“In the age of AI and deepfakes, we need better ways to know who we’re actually interacting with. This book shows how identity and verification will need to evolve so we can capture AI’s benefits without undermining trust in each other.”Bill Gates
“Defending real people at scale taught me that recognition isn’t security; proof is. Painter captures that shift exactly, and lays out the layered, practical defenses that actually hold up against AI. This is the playbook I wish every security team had five years ago.”Latha Maripuri, former CISO, Uber; CISO, Nscale
“Every enterprise workflow I’ve ever built assumed you knew who was on the other end. Painter shows why that assumption no longer holds, and what we need to do about it. Deepfaked is essential reading for leaders navigating a world where anyone can convincingly be someone else.”Fred Luddy, founder, ServiceNow
“Every company now hires people it has never met in person. AI has made that the easiest door for an impostor to walk through. Deepfaked shows every leader who hires how to tell who’s really joining the team.”Jerry Ting, VP/GM, Workday AI Agents; founder, Evisort
“Attackers choose the lowest-cost path: stealing credentials, manipulating recovery flows, and exploiting human trust. Deepfaked puts a sharp focus on mapping phishing-resistant authentication, strong proof of identity, and delivering a seamless credential lifecycle to close the gaps.”Jerrod Chong, CEO, Yubico
The book
AI can now copy a face, a voice, and a writing style well enough to pass at a glance. Spotting fakes is a race that gets harder every month.
Deepfaked argues for a different goal: verify the real person. It shows how to ask for proof of who someone is at the moments that matter, and how to do it without treating everyone like a suspect.
The book follows real cases, including the Arup video call where a deepfaked meeting led to a $25.6 million wire, and the personal story that started it: a cloned voice calling Aaron’s grandmother.
It is written for the people who make these calls every day: helpdesks, finance teams, hiring managers, and the leaders who answer for them.
Reported cybercrime losses in 2025
Of those losses tied to AI-enabled scams
Wired after one deepfaked video call at Arup
Inside the book
MGM and Arup show how a single convincing conversation becomes a breach or a wire transfer.
The call to Aaron’s grandmother, and the nickname that saved her.
A familiar face or voice was never really security. It was a habit, and habits can be copied.
Proposals for a human directory and a code of conduct for how we verify each other.
Verification should protect people without making every interaction feel like an interrogation.
Shared norms for how AI is used, disclosed, and held accountable are still missing.
Excerpt · Chapter One
“Thank goodness you’re okay.”
Chapter One opens with the phone call to Aaron’s grandparents, and the moments after it, when the relief set in and the questions started.
From there it moves into the technology behind the call and why impersonation has become an epidemic.
Press
Everything for coverage of Deepfaked: the press kit PDF, book cover files, and author photos.
Media
New writing
Aaron writes on Substack about trust, identity, and AI impersonation. Subscribe to get each new piece.