Exploring DeepFakes

In December 2017, a user named "DeepFakes" posted realistic looking explicit videos of famous celebrities on Reddit. He generated these fake videos using deep learning, the latest in AI, to insert celebrities' faces into adult movies. In the following weeks, the internet exploded with articles about the dangers of face swapping technology: harassing innocents, propagating fake news, and hurting the credibility of video evidence forever. It's true that bad actors will use this technology for harm; but given that the genie is out of the bottle, shouldn't we pause to consider what else DeepFakes could be used for? In this post, I explore the capabilities of this tech, describe how it works, and discuss potential applications.