AI Deepfakes and the Future of Truth

When several life-like Tom Cruise deepfakes went viral on TikTok, many saw the future of truth through a glass, darkly -- out of concern for a world where acquiring deepfakes of major celebrities or political figures would become a "one-click" feature of daily life. Like it or not, we live in a world where anyone can interact with deepfake technology. But curating high-end specialized AI drivers -- whether for mischief or raising awareness -- is harder than it looks. The creator of the video -- a Belgium VFX specialist named Chris Ume -- thinks this is unlikely, emphasizing the impractically long timespans and substantial effort required to build every deepfake, in addition to finding an ace Tom Cruise impersonator (Miles Fisher). "You can't do it by just pressing a button," said Ume in a report from The Verge.