THE incredible feats of artificial intelligence have long gone from fantasy into reality, made apparent by the emergence of ChatGPT sometime in 2022.
But the chatbot and virtual assistant are about to be overshadowed by other AI technology with abilities that are both awe-inspiring and frightening at the same time.
A video by a netizen @AngryTomtweets showed AI can be used to bring to life the many famous figures across history, all just by using their painted portraits.
Famous figures throughout history animated
1. Vincent van Gogh pic.twitter.com/kGmix9krxl
— Angry Tom (@AngryTomtweets) August 12, 2024
Among them were Van Gogh, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Leonardo da Vinci, Jane Austen, and Nikola Tesla, just to name a few. Film and video makers will certainly benefit immensely from this deepfake technology.
And to think about it, film-making will no longer be confined to the professionals but every layman with the drive to learn. However, this power also comes with its problems.
The creation of convincing, realistic synthetic media content allows bad actors to spread misinformation, perpetrate financial fraud, and tarnish reputations, exploiting the trust we place in digital media.
According to CNN this year, a finance worker at a multinational firm was tricked into paying out US$25 million to fraudsters.
Hong Kong police said the company’s United Kingdom-based chief financial officer and several other staff members were recreated using deepfake technology in a video conference call to orchestrate the fraud.
On another note, a number of deepfake pornographic sites have sprung up over the years, featuring celebrities like Gal Gadot, Elizabeth Olsen and many other household names.
It would seem that the future would hold plenty of opportunity for everyone to not only become professional filmmakers but pornstars too. But is it possible to counter this worrying trend?
The European Association Of Communication Agencies (EACA) said that deep fake videos can be discerned by several unique features.
Informed viewers should have no trouble spotting the slight pixelation on the actor or actresses’ face. Either that or their mouths would appear distorted when the person in question speaks.
Also, the EACA mentioned that light and shadows on the face may appear abnormal. Indeed, the initial video shown by @AngryTomtweets could be seen to be very much synthetic.
However, how many years more will it take for deepfake technology to breach the gap and assume our identity convincingly? – Aug 14, 2024
Main image: towardsdatascience.com
