Original URL: As fake videos become more realistic, seeing shouldn't always be believing.
All it takes is a single selfie.
From that static image, an algorithm can quickly create a moving, lifelike avatar: a video not recorded, but fabricated from whole cloth by software.
With more time, Pinscreen, the Los Angeles start-up behind the technology, believes its renderings will become so accurate they will defy reality.
"You won't be able to tell," said Hao Li, a leading researcher on computer-generated video at USC who founded Pinscreen in 2015. "With further deep-learning advancements, especially on mobile devices, we'll be able to produce completely photoreal avatars in real time."
[...] Now imagine a phony video of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un announcing a missile strike. The White House would have mere minutes to determine whether the clip was genuine and whether it warranted a retaliatory strike.
-- submitted from IRC
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Currently to get a realistic Deep Fake, shots from multiple angles are needed. Russian researchers have now taken this a step further, generating realistic video sequences based off a single photo.
Researchers trained the algorithm to understand facial features' general shapes and how they behave relative to each other, and then to apply that information to still images. The result was a realistic video sequence of new facial expressions from a single frame.
As a demonstration, they provide details and synthesized video sequences of historical figures such as Albert Einstein and Salvador Dali, as well as sequences based on paintings such as the Mona Lisa.
The authors are aware of the potential downsides of their technology and address this:
We realize that our technology can have a negative use for the so-called "deepfake" videos. However, it is important to realize, that Hollywood has been making fake videos (aka "special effects") for a century, and deep networks with similar capabilities have been available for the past several years (see links in the paper). Our work (and quite a few parallel works) will lead to the democratization of the certain special effects technologies. And the democratization of the technologies has always had negative effects. Democratizing sound editing tools lead to the rise of pranksters and fake audios, democratizing video recording lead to the appearance of footage taken without consent. In each of the past cases, the net effect of democratization on the World has been positive, and mechanisms for stemming the negative effects have been developed. We believe that the case of neural avatar technology will be no different. Our belief is supported by the ongoing development of tools for fake video detection and face spoof detection alongside with the ongoing shift for privacy and data security in major IT companies.
While it works with as few as one frame to learn from, the technology benefits in accuracy and 'identity preservation' from having multiple frames available. This becomes obvious when observing the synthesized Mona Lisa sequences, which, while accurate to the original, appear to be essentially three different individuals to the human eye watching them.
Journal Reference: https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.08233v1
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As Fake Videos Become More Realistic, Seeing Shouldn't Always be Believing
(Score: 3, Insightful) by urza9814 on Tuesday October 09 2018, @12:18PM (14 children)
Ok, I can certainly see some problems from this kind of tech...but this seems like a really awful example. The only way they've got "minutes" to decide is if the announcement is made in a live broadcast. So supposing some idiot on the web gets their hands on this tech, they've still gotta fake a live broadcast from North Korea before it causes an intentional incident. It's not like you can mail the video to the NYT and say the missiles are going to hit five minutes after they open the envelope...and even if you did, are they really going to believe that THAT'S how Kim is distributing his message?
It's going to be much more useful for videos of a politician doing something stupid while they were in college. The kind of thing which can mysteriously surface online from an anonymous source. But the important distinction there is that these things aren't nearly as time-sensitive, which makes it much less of a crisis than the example wants us to think. At least for now...
(Of course, a state actor could fake that kind of live broadcast...but they also have the resources to hire a body double)
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday October 09 2018, @12:34PM (2 children)
Meh, useful would be putting my face on Ron Jeremy or Batman.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Tuesday October 09 2018, @01:24PM (1 child)
> my face on batman
about as useful as your face behind a guy fawkes mask, tbh.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 09 2018, @09:59PM
About as useful as a face on a bot? ;-)
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday October 09 2018, @12:35PM (7 children)
Now imagine thousands of launch detection assets with the capability to confirm/deny an actual launch, everything from satellite to ground based radar, ship based radar and in-country on the ground assets with eyes on the launch sites.
Sure, go on alert for the fake video, but anyone who takes action based solely upon a video announcement is beyond foolish.
Now, when Spectre builds a simulated NK ICBM and launches it from a site that could be NK controlled in concert with the fake video announcement, etc... that's a problem.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 09 2018, @12:45PM (1 child)
anyone who takes action based solely upon a video announcement is beyond foolish.
You do know who is president?
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 09 2018, @01:20PM
He would probably assume its fakenews, like that recent nyt fiasco:
https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-us-canada-45798245 [bbc.com]
(Score: 2) by Bot on Tuesday October 09 2018, @01:29PM (1 child)
> anyone who takes action based solely upon a video announcement is beyond foolish
A kavanaugh in one, here.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 09 2018, @03:54PM
If he wasn't on a short leash we'd already have WWIII running with full nuclear deployment - not that he's eager to start it, just that he's inept enough to let it happen to him.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday October 09 2018, @06:00PM (2 children)
> anyone who takes action based solely upon a video announcement is beyond foolish.
Dumber than a flock of Palins.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday October 09 2018, @08:48PM (1 child)
Thankfully, Palin, GWB, Carrot Top, Slick Willie, Ronnie and the rest of them weren't as completely in control as they are portrayed to be in movies.
At least that's what I tell myself so I can sleep at night.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 10 2018, @09:06AM
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/14/could-anyone-stop-trump-from-launching-nukes-the-answer-no.html [cnbc.com]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/08/09/what-if-the-president-ordering-a-nuclear-attack-isnt-sane-a-major-lost-his-job-for-asking/ [washingtonpost.com]
In contrast the USSR had a saner system: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Hand [wikipedia.org]
It's easier to confirm you were nuked AFTER you were actually nuked and then retaliate, assuming the systems were designed properly to survive a nuclear strike.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by c0lo on Tuesday October 09 2018, @12:39PM
Since when do you think 4chan amateur trolls or the professional Yannopoulos care about veracity?
What's more dangerous in terms of probability? An instant overreaction of the Pentagon or the pressure of Fauxnews for the govt to do something, teach (a framed) NK a lesson?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 5, Insightful) by VLM on Tuesday October 09 2018, @12:53PM
If they're gonna false flag Iran they got months or years to perfect the leader of Iran ordering a launch, then the propaganda from our side will be "we only had minutes to decide to retaliate" After the leader of Iran is a cloud of nuclear vapor its not like he's gonna be able to point out whoopsies that was a fake video.
(Score: 2) by Alfred on Wednesday October 10 2018, @06:37PM
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by VLM on Tuesday October 09 2018, @12:31PM (1 child)
Infinitely more realistic that every future white male supreme court nominee, or all white males in politics, who are growing up today, will have all kinds of ridiculous virtual pr0n videos made of him and widely distributed as fact by the usual propaganda sources one month before the election or the week before the confirmation vote or preferably both. "Believe the victim" just like that "To kill a mockingbird" movie, LOL.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 09 2018, @04:38PM
Nutter nutter on the loose
Whose opressioon shall he use?
What a sucker
What a tool
Hear ye hear ye we found our resident fool
(Score: 4, Interesting) by pkrasimirov on Tuesday October 09 2018, @12:44PM (3 children)
From the TFA:
Realistic enough for me.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 09 2018, @01:16PM
lol: that's like saying "you can't see me. I am invisible."
duh, obviously the server hosting their "(geo locked) award-winning" news is totally accesible and visible from europe?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Bot on Tuesday October 09 2018, @01:59PM
>we are doing unspeakable things with the info we collect from the visitors of our site, so we can't show it in EU anymore, sucks to be you.
FTFY
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2) by el_oscuro on Tuesday October 09 2018, @07:58PM
So in other words, they don't comply with the GDPR. Best viewed with a pi-hole.
SoylentNews is Bacon! [nueskes.com]
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 09 2018, @01:07PM (1 child)
'tis was nagging me for so long: How did luke skywalker end up in kilrathi space? Now we know! all fake!
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday October 09 2018, @04:59PM
Wing Commander Prophecy was really fun back in the day. The control scheme hasn't aged well, though. Then again, maybe I'm just too pampered from newer games that explain their control schemes.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 09 2018, @01:39PM (1 child)
Is a fake video really much worse than getting your information from people who just repeat what anonymous "officials" told them? I feel like the news has already been scraping the bottom of the barrel for so long that these fake videos wont really have much effect.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 10 2018, @04:32AM
What these anonymous officials are doing is called leaking. Some of them could lose their jobs over it, or even be imprisoned.
(Score: 2) by Spook brat on Tuesday October 09 2018, @02:05PM (2 children)
I long for a world where global leaders - even backwater ones like the president of North Korea - have public keys published via official channels so that authentic announcements can be instantly verified. World governments already embrace the utility of encryption for their own use (if not the People's), so this isn't a far stretch.
Of course, the possibility exists of NK announcing their launch via unsigned video in order to gain precious minutes of reaction time. They'd be sure to set the evil bit [ietf.org] on that video before transmitting it over the Internet, right? If it were me, though, I'd just launch and let the warheads be the warning message. Gloating afterwards would be signed to that I'd get proper credit; no use going to the trouble of launching a nuke and letting someone else take credit.
Travel the galaxy! Meet fascinating life forms... And kill them [schlockmercenary.com]
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Tuesday October 09 2018, @03:04PM (1 child)
Why would they announce?
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by Spook brat on Tuesday October 09 2018, @04:28PM
I know, right? From my previous post:
I'm pretty sure that example was made up on the spot by an imaginative journalist without much thought. On the other hand, why does North Korea do anything? Attributing logic to that government's actions is giving their Dear Leader too much credit, I think.
Travel the galaxy! Meet fascinating life forms... And kill them [schlockmercenary.com]
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Tuesday October 09 2018, @02:06PM (2 children)
It sure is handy to have all physical evidence removed from consideration, eh? That way, you can turn all legal and political contests into contests of credibility and personal belief. So, to use a completely random example, if there's a video of a cop shooting a civilian in the back, the defense can now say it was faked and it's now a question of whether the jury believes the cops or believe the dead guy who can't talk. Or if somebody unearthed a video of Donald Trump actually taking orders from Vladimir Putin, it could be safely dismissed as "fake news" by those inclined to believe Donald Trump.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 09 2018, @02:20PM
What was in the "insurance" file on Anthony Wieners laptop that the FBI tried to avoid looking at?
https://www.justice.gov/file/1071991/download [justice.gov]
(Score: 4, Interesting) by DannyB on Tuesday October 09 2018, @06:11PM
Fake video technology is not necessary. Anything and everything already is routinely dismissed as fake news by Trump and his acolytes. They would dismiss video of Trump and Putin, even if there were no technology to make deep fake videos. Evidence no longer matters. See: climate change, evolution, how teenagers become pregnant.
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