Anything Goes : Thoughts on Deepfake by Johan Bodell

Johan Bodell

Thoughts on Deepfake

Deepfake - A fantastic tool or a threat to democracy

Link to the short film Stolen Dreams: https://youtu.be/fvV-IOXQXzw

In a few years, we can look back and remember 2021 as the year when we finally started to see the light after the pandemic. The year when we finally could start going to the cinema again and slowly the world began to return back into a normal state without restrictions. It will also be a year that we will remember as a year when film was still made in a traditional way. If a line was mistaken, a new shot was taken. If an actor's schedule did not fit, attempts were made to reschedule for another day of filming or it was simply replaced completely. The year will be remembered as a year when Deepfake was something you saw being used in a few Youtube clips, without it affecting your everyday life.

In the TV series 30 Rock, NBC boss Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) realizes that they own the rights to

Seinfeld. And since they have so much good material on him, they can insert Jerry Seinfeld into everything from Law & Order, advertising to reality like Milf Island. Seinfeld was completely unaware of what they were using him for in the series itself. The episode is from 2007, about 10 years before the term Deepfake started to flourish, and I don't think the screenwriters then knew how right it was.

In the short film Stolen Dream, we see a young actress get her appearance stolen by a film company. Or maybe not stolen since she had approved it through the agreement she signed. The film company could have hired her, but chose instead to use the Deepfake technology to scan her and create their own digital actress to save both time and money.

It is always difficult to make prediction about the future, whether this is a path that film companies will choose to take or not. If a company were to create its own “digital” stable of looks that they can use in all their productions, however, they will have a lot to gain from it. Actors have a high cost, and this is the first reason why the film company would like to go down that route. To have their own "actors" that they can create a celebrity image around, who communicates correctly on the well-chosen occasions that the company chooses to let them be seen. They would express themselves exactly as the company wants in social media and promote products like any influencer, but all profits go directly into the company's pockets, which is always available to them.

The imagination runs wild when you begin thinking along these lines. Naturally, in the first instance, a recording will still be required, however with a stand-in acting that they can apply their "actor" on. The AI will be developed. Take 80% Maryl Streep and mix in 20% Liam Neeson in this scene. The direction will be done afterwards at the editing table where you can test different variations, intensities and expressions.

The first clip that I remember reacting to and associating with Deepfake was of Barack Obama when he standing and saying a bunch of nonsense. Now and then clips pop up in one's feed that are created with the help of Deepfake. Often featuring Nicolas Cage, Jim Carrey or Tom Cruise whose faces have been applied on those of other actors, and every year it gets more and more convincing.

The same technology has also been used in recent years one the one hand to recreate deceased characters in new films (Princess Leia in Rouge One) and on the other to rejuvenate actors (Robert DeNiro in The Irishman), with varying results. It's neither perfect nor easy, but it is getting more and more convincing at a fast pace.

Now and then, news is also emerging that deepfake technology is being used to apply famous actors' faces on porn stars. Imagine the talk around the coffee machine if someone has seen a colleague at your workplace appear in a porn film (before the person in question has had a chance to deny or take down the clip, the damage may already be done and the spread of rumors in full swing). Or the day when you see a politician say or do something sensational. The clip spreads rapidly across the internet, riots occur and before anyone has had time to issue a denial or rebuttal, the damage is already done.

If you take it to its logical conclusion, this technology can be a threat to democracy. What can you really believe in? Can you believe in something you cannot see with your own eyes? In a world where trust in politicians is low in general, how will a factor like this affect our reality?

The development takes place at a furious pace and nothing can stop it. Facebook, Youtube and other companies are currently developing methods to detect deepfake clips. But every day the clips are also getting better and harder to detect. It is a development that can not be stopped. What can be done is to inform society that it exists, and that we all have a sceptical mind when we watch videos and clips. Especially if it is something sensational.

Furthermore it may be worth going against the instinctive impulse to share and condemn. Stay cool and reserved before it's confirmed to be true.

Just like in the short film Stolen Dream, people's dreams will be shattered by having their faces and voices applied in contexts they did not agree with.

/Johan Bodell

www.johanbodell.com

Andrew Sobkovich

A few months before the Pandemic became known, I was at the SMPTE meeting in Hollywood about “deep fake” technology. Interesting and concerning. Most memorable line from the meeting was from one of the expert panelists, “Right now I can tell the difference. In six months that will probably not be the case.”

That meeting was a couple of years ago.

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