What is better than ultra-high technology, Mission Impossiblestyle mask? The deepfake technology that this TikToker is using to impersonate Tom Cruise, apparently (via The Daily Beast) The deeptomcruise account seems to show someone who is pretending to be the famous actor, and the impression is not just jaw-dropping because of how well the person reproduces Cruise’s famous laugh.
How can you know that it’s not really Tom Cruise using some kind of strange name on Twitter? First, your voice is close, but it is not quite there, especially since lip sync is a little bit wrong at some points. You can hear what the real Cruise sounds like in this video (unless, of course, James Corden deceived you too).
Second, although the tracking and illumination on the face is almost immaculate – especially when the actor goes through something in front of his face – there are still some telltale flaws, notably in golf, where sunglasses disappear and his mouth is transformed by a frame or two.
Even with these small signs, the effect is still frightening. I’m not going to shout from the top that deepfakes will be ruining society, but the fact that someone is posing, almost credibly, as a famous actor on TikTok (and gaining 236,000 followers in the process) shows that it is still difficult to track deepfakes. Although the account clearly indicates that it is a scam when using “deep” in the name, the next one to appear may not be. TikTok did not immediately respond to an email from The Verge asking if this type of account is allowed under their terms of service, but their TOS explicitly call impersonations as prohibited:
You may not: […]
impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent you or your affiliation with any person or entity, including giving the impression that any content you upload, post, transmit, distribute or otherwise make available comes from the Services
That said, this story seems to be a bit of fun, relatively harmless. If you are reading this, person who performs deeptomcruise (or the real Tom Cruise), show us if this coach can follow your best Tom Cruise run, or if he can make you dance and voice Bob Seger. Whatever you do, leave Oprah, false or not, out of it.