Deepfake: what is it and what does it entail
The technology has been able to develop through artificial intelligence (AI)
The term comes from the word ultrafake, an acronym in English for fake and depp learing, which mean forgery and deep learning respectively. As for technique it is about the way in which artificial intelligence allows you to edit fake videos of people who appear to be real. All this through unsupervised learning algorithms.
The first deepfakes were generated in 2017 at the University of Washington. The simulation was carried out with former United States President Barack Obama speaking about the dangers of information and fake news. The video is fake, its actor and director is Jordan Peele and it was created from his facial gestures with the facial features of Obama. All this through the hand of the deepfake.
On the one hand, a new study is now available that explains that the faces created by artificial intelligences are no longer only indistinguishable from the real ones but also generate more trust among people. The researchers showed a group of people images of real and digital faces. "We are not saying that all the images generated are indistinguishable from a real face, but a significant number of them are," says Sophie Nightingale, professor of psychology at Lancaster University, in the United Kingdom, and co-author of the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA.
Scientists warn of the dangers of failing to distinguish between real people and deepfakes. “We encourage developers of these technologies to consider whether the associated risks outweigh their benefits. If so, we advise against developing this technology,†explains Nightingale.
On the other hand, deepfake is becoming popular in South Korea. The political campaigns seek the opportunity in this technology to find new audiences and supporters. This is enhanced by the fact that it is a country that has high-speed internet. The avatar in question looks almost identical to the candidate, but this one uses bolder language and jokes created to transform them into memes. An attempt to attract young voters who are informed through other non-traditional means.