Deepfake technology is one of the exciting areas of artificial intelligence (AI) that enables the manipulation of digital content. Deepfakes are fake videos and images created using deep learning algorithms. Let’s take a look at what exactly deepfakes are, how they are made, and what challenges they pose.

A deepfake is artificial intelligence (AI) that creates convincing fake images, sounds and videos. The term combines the concept of deep learning with falsity. Deepfake compiles deceptive images and sounds and then stitches them together using machine learning algorithms.

Deepfake technology is often used to replace faces in videos, images, and other digital content to make fake content appear real. It is based on deep learning algorithms that learn by themselves to solve problems with large data sets and are able to create fake content of real people. In deepfake videos, the voice of a specific person can be copied, feeding the AI ​​model with real voice data to imitate that voice

What is a deepfake?

Deepfake is the 21st century’s answer to Photoshop. This technology works with deep learning methods such as neural networks to create images or videos of fake events.

For example, by transferring Barack Obama’s voice and facial expression, we can make a video in which he tells Donald Trump that he is a “complete idiot”.

Deepfakes are suitable for creating not only videos, but also photos and audio recordings.

 

How are deepfakes made?

Deepfakes appeared in 2017 when a Reddit user posted smoking porn clips on the site under the same name.

These videos replaced the faces of celebrities (such as Gal Gadot, Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson) with the faces of porn stars.

Technology has evolved since then, and now anyone with a few photos can create deepfakes.

 

What are deepfakes used for?

Many deepfakes are pornographic in nature. AI firm Deeptrace found 15,000 deepfake videos online in September 2019, almost doubling in nine months.

In addition to porn, there are many kinds of parodies and jokes. Deepfakes are suitable for creating not only videos, but also photos and audio recordings.