What does the future of fake news look like? No one really knows, but here’s a little sampler from Jordan Peele and BuzzFeed, who teamed up to make the above PSA. Using some of the latest AI techniques, Peele ventriloquizes Barack Obama, having him voice his opinion on Black Panther (“Killmonger was right”) and call President Donald Trump “a total and complete dipshit.”
The video was made by Peele’s production company using a combination of old and new technology: Adobe After Effects and the AI face-swapping tool FakeApp. The latter is the most prominent example of how AI can facilitate the creation of photorealistic fake videos. It started life on Reddit as a tool for making fake celebrity porn, but it has since become a worrying symbol of the power of AI to generate misinformation and fake news .
Yes, we’ve had software to create fakes for a while, but AI makes the whole process easier. Researchers have developed tools that let you perform face swaps like the one above in real time ; Adobe is creating a “ Photoshop for audio ” that lets you edit dialogue as easily as a photo; and a Canadian startup named Lyrebird offers a service that lets you fake someone else’s voice with just a few minutes of audio. Technologist Aviv Ovadya summed up the fears created by this tech, asking BuzzFeed News, “What happens when anyone can make it appear as if anything has happened, regardless of whether or not it did?”
Amazing video Larry, but also terrifying. We are living in dangerous times. As if our media was not already messed up, this new layer of alternative universes is going to make it almost impossible to know what is real from what is generated. I am horrified.
This caught my attention just a couple of days after hearing an interview on MPR, where a couple of fellas were showcasing how easy it is to manipulate vocalizations. In one experiment a fake political ad was created (Barack Obama again); ...and I thought then, as I listened, "it's uncanny how effective these tools are".
These types of manipulations, combined with concerted propaganda and willing ignorant masses, creates a War of the Worlds Phenomena taken to an ultimate, monstrous extreme.
Moreover, efficiency will only improve. Thus, that awkward "poutiness" around Obama's mouth and nasal quality to the voice will be ironed out. This is not cool for the people who 'overshare' online with personal images, videos, and the like.
So a picture is no longer worth a thousand words? We're doomed! Doomed! All man's technology is supposed to do was make life easier and enhance its purposes. Instead our identities are stolen and "fake celebrity porn" ? Horrors!! Everything has a dark side! This is proven now!
I feel disturbed as if I am watching a scene from some futuristic apocalyptic free for all, when the curtain peels back and the future president is some "400 lb" man-child lying on a bed ordering our security forces on alert all over the world! How astute of Jordan Peele and Buzzfeed to give a presentation of the two-degrees of separation between Obama:Trump! Between our President:Vice-President delivering a message to the nation. Chaos-making and the surreal is coming and it can travel the world before truth gets its boots on!
Well, fake news can be tough enough to divine, now we can do this? Anyone with a bit of technology can set up a video making someone else say anything they want. I wonder if there are personal/legal protections one could take, though I'm sure those would be slow and cumbersome with our current legal system.....
I guess it is going to depend on how quickly we catch on to this, and how quickly we find tools to detect this. Until then, I think we have a mess on our hands.
Just a glimpse into the endless possibilities of societal manipulation through technology. Absolutely terrifying when one dwells on those possibilities!
Military protection of American citizens is fruitless against the protection needed in cyber. We're so far behind the curve, a curve that increases exponentially every year.
What does the future of fake news look like? No one really knows, but here’s a little sampler from Jordan Peele and BuzzFeed, who teamed up to make the above PSA. Using some of the latest AI techniques, Peele ventriloquizes Barack Obama, having him voice his opinion on Black Panther (“Killmonger was right”) and call President Donald Trump “a total and complete dipshit.”
The video was made by Peele’s production company using a combination of old and new technology: Adobe After Effects and the AI face-swapping tool FakeApp. The latter is the most prominent example of how AI can facilitate the creation of photorealistic fake videos. It started life on Reddit as a tool for making fake celebrity porn, but it has since become a worrying symbol of the power of AI to generate misinformation and fake news .
Yes, we’ve had software to create fakes for a while, but AI makes the whole process easier. Researchers have developed tools that let you perform face swaps like the one above in real time ; Adobe is creating a “ Photoshop for audio ” that lets you edit dialogue as easily as a photo; and a Canadian startup named Lyrebird offers a service that lets you fake someone else’s voice with just a few minutes of audio. Technologist Aviv Ovadya summed up the fears created by this tech, asking BuzzFeed News, “What happens when anyone can make it appear as if anything has happened, regardless of whether or not it did?”
Amazing video Larry, but also terrifying. We are living in dangerous times. As if our media was not already messed up, this new layer of alternative universes is going to make it almost impossible to know what is real from what is generated. I am horrified.
Thanks Perrie,
This caught my attention just a couple of days after hearing an interview on MPR, where a couple of fellas were showcasing how easy it is to manipulate vocalizations. In one experiment a fake political ad was created (Barack Obama again); ...and I thought then, as I listened, "it's uncanny how effective these tools are".
These types of manipulations, combined with concerted propaganda and willing ignorant masses, creates a War of the Worlds Phenomena taken to an ultimate, monstrous extreme.
Moreover, efficiency will only improve. Thus, that awkward "poutiness" around Obama's mouth and nasal quality to the voice will be ironed out. This is not cool for the people who 'overshare' online with personal images, videos, and the like.
So a picture is no longer worth a thousand words? We're doomed! Doomed! All man's technology is supposed to do was make life easier and enhance its purposes. Instead our identities are stolen and "fake celebrity porn" ? Horrors!! Everything has a dark side! This is proven now!
I agree Cal. That video woke this bitch up and I found it terrifying. Everyone should watch this.
How will we ever know what is real now?
I feel disturbed as if I am watching a scene from some futuristic apocalyptic free for all, when the curtain peels back and the future president is some "400 lb" man-child lying on a bed ordering our security forces on alert all over the world! How astute of Jordan Peele and Buzzfeed to give a presentation of the two-degrees of separation between Obama:Trump! Between our President:Vice-President delivering a message to the nation. Chaos-making and the surreal is coming and it can travel the world before truth gets its boots on!
Well, fake news can be tough enough to divine, now we can do this? Anyone with a bit of technology can set up a video making someone else say anything they want. I wonder if there are personal/legal protections one could take, though I'm sure those would be slow and cumbersome with our current legal system.....
Gary,
I guess it is going to depend on how quickly we catch on to this, and how quickly we find tools to detect this. Until then, I think we have a mess on our hands.
Mad scientists, evil hackers, greedy religious luminaries, and diabolical people are now and forevermore with us, and preying on us!
Shudder ...................
The MSM has some damn hard work to follow up on !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Time for them to get back to actual old school "News" reporting, and get out of the opinion game !
"This is "Actually" what happened...........You decide" !
Just a glimpse into the endless possibilities of societal manipulation through technology. Absolutely terrifying when one dwells on those possibilities!
Military protection of American citizens is fruitless against the protection needed in cyber. We're so far behind the curve, a curve that increases exponentially every year.