Update on 3/5/2021: The creator of the deeptomcruise account revealed today that it was an acrobatics. Conceived by visual effects specialist Chris Ume, the goal was to draw attention to deepfakes and a petition for its regulation.
Ume invited Miles Fisher, one of the most renowned Tom Cruise impersonators in the world, to work with him on creating short videos on TikTok. It is much easier to create a believable deepfake when the subject looks like the subject that is trying to be copied. Even with Fisher, however, Ume says the process of creating these surprisingly realistic videos required feeding more than 20,000 images of the actor’s face from different angles and lighting conditions on his computer. This process, according to The Verge, it took more than two months to train the AI base.
Ume, a resident of Hasselt, Belgium, is considered one of the best in the world in creating high quality deepfakes, according to The times. The “deeptomcruise” trick was designed to draw more attention to the technology.
“I think there should be laws that help with the responsible use of AI and deepfakes, this is important. There will always be an improper use of this technology, you cannot prevent it ”, says Ume.
Original story published on 3/21/21:
A TikToker is using deepfake technology to impersonate Tom Cruise on the social media platform and the results are so realistic that some may mistakenly believe that he is actually the famous actor. The latter situation again raised concerns about creating and using deepfakes.
Although the account is clearly warning people that this is not the real Tom Cruise – the username is deseptomcruise, to begin with – those who do not pay attention can easily mistake what they are seeing with the original article. Even without seeing the username, the video is not entirely perfect (The Verge notes that lip sync is wrong in some places and the voice is not quite right).
@deeptomcruise ♬ original sound – Tom
@deeptomcruise Sports!
♬ original sound – Tom
The most recent video, uploaded four days before publication, is the most realistic of the lot and shows Cruise’s impersonator doing a magic trick.
@deeptomcruise I love magic!
♬ original sound – Tom
Again, looking closely reveals that something is wrong, but no doubt this video would deceive many and is clearly close enough to sound the alarm, as several publications weighed in on the account, which again is causing some to question the legality of the deepfakes.
Overall, the account has more than 10 million views, 1.1 million likes and more than 370,000 followers. On Tuesday afternoon, account coverage peaked and trend on Twitter.
According to TikTok’s own terms of service, Tom Cruise’s impersonation videos must be a violation:
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
However, days after the disclosure of the initial history of the viral spread of the account, the videos remain on the platform.
Changes in the law will be necessary to safeguard everyone, writes @Mathilde_Pavis https://t.co/imxcqwKkia pic.twitter.com/XYhWoKNWJ9
– The Times (@thetimes) March 2, 2021
Artificial intelligence at the heart of deepfakes is becoming easier not only to access, but to use. Despite the many tools available to fight it, deepfake detectors can still be deceived and have tested the skills of social media companies to stop them, including Facebook. Some speculate that, in general, fake news and counterfeit content could cost the economy $ 39 billion a year.
In the meantime, companies like Adobe and the newcomer Hour One are helping to create technology that not only makes creating images, expressions or totally artificial people easier to access, but also easier to deploy and use every day.
With the speed with which technology is advancing, it is argued that the steps to protect people are not moving fast enough to keep pace. Some experts even say that sharing a deepfake should be a crime.
Sharing “fake” images should be a crime, according to experts who fear the law is not keeping up with technology and online behavior https://t.co/xlH3cgQk0N
– The Times (@thetimes) March 1, 2021
Whatever the case, it seems that with each passing month a new, better and more convincing iteration of deepfake technology appears. How, if any, society will decide to do so has yet to be determined.
(via The Times)