Deep Fakes

Possibly the most terrifying aspect of the world currently is the concept of deepfakes, media such as photos or videos where aspects of a person in said media is replaced with the likeness of another with the use of deep learning AIs. Typically, an image or recording of a person similar in appearance to the desired person is obtained, after which said image/recording is digitally edited with deep learning technology to make the image/recording appear as if said desired person was in that image/recording. At this moment in time, deepfakes are reaching a point where it becomes much more difficult to recognize them, which has major implications if it ever reaches a point where deepfakes are essentially unrecognizable. So, at this point, I try my best to identify and recognize them so as to avoid any false information. For instance, in many cases of deepfaking, lighting is a major issue in trying to create an accurate deepfake; as such, if a face or body feature of a person has a rather particular appearance, such as a face reflecting light from areas where there are no light sources, then that image or video probably has a deepfake. Another important aspect to recognize is if the placement or actions of certain body parts appear realistic; for example, if only a single part of a person seems to be fuzzy for a moment, as opposed to all similar body parts or, if applicable, the entire body, then that may be an instance of deepfaking.