Deepfakes Are Never Going Away

Tom Hanks recently alerted fans (via Instagram) about an AI-generated version of himself being used without his consent to promote a dental plan: "I had nothing to do with it." This incident underscores the broader challenges we all face with the rise of generative AI (one of the underlying technologies for deepfakes). Continue Reading →

AI’s Impact on Hollywood’s Striking Actors and Writers

Shelly Palmer delves into the intersection of AI technology and the Hollywood film industry. Amidst a strike from thousands of actors and writers seeking a fair contract in the digital age, he explores how AI capabilities are reshaping film production, including de-aging actors, replacing extras with deepfakes, and more. Original airdate: July 18, 2023. Continue Reading →

Back from the Dead

In a culture-jacking stunt worthy of the "Year of AI," a company called play.ht has produced a fictional podcast starring AI-generated versions of Joe Rogan and the late Steve Jobs. You may not enjoy the content, but you will enjoy this tour de force in technique. Continue Reading →

Deepfakeout

Bruce Willis sold the rights to his deepfake self to a firm called Deepcake. From now on, when you want a de-aged version of Bruce to appear in your project, they are the people to see. Continue Reading →

TikTok’s Amazing Text-to-Image AI Backgrounds

Cosmo AI Cover
Want to know how fast virtual worlds are going to appear? TikTok recently added a new effect called "AI greenscreen." Users type a description, then the AI does its best to interpret the prose and output an image that can be used as a background for a TikTok video. Continue Reading →

Kyle Rittenhouse’s Lawyers Point Out the Obvious

Mark Richards, one of Kyle Rittenhouse’s lawyers, argued that using an iPad to zoom in on a video should not be allowed because Apple’s AI creates “what it thinks is there, not what necessarily is there.” Judge Bruce Schroeder totally bought into that possibility and ruled that the jurors were only allowed to view the video in its original size. Continue Reading →

Weaponizing Deepfakes

As part of a smear campaign designed to eliminate her daughter's cheerleading rivals, a woman in Bucks County, Penn., created deepfakes depicting her daughter's rivals naked, drinking, or smoking. Then, according to the Bucks County DA, she sent them to her daughter's coaches and to the victims of her attack with text messages urging the teenaged girls to kill themselves. Continue Reading →