Deepfake Videos of Tom Cruise Raise Concern
A series of deepfake videos of Tom Cruise have gained more than 11 million views on TikTok. The creator said he never wanted to trick people. But since he has, he’s hoping the sudden influx (涌入) of attention can help bring greater awareness to the continued evolution of the technology that can create incredibly realistic fake videos of people.
“The important thing is, we didn’t want to fool people at any moment,” Chris Ume, 31, the Belgian visual effects artist behind the visual deepfake, said in an interview. “If I can help in creating awareness, or even work on detection in the future, I would love to.”
Ume created the four videos, in which it appeared to show the Hollywood star playing golf, doing a magic coin trick, and falling over while telling a story. The videos went visual, attracting attention on TikTok and across the Internet.
And though most people realized quickly that the videos were fake, even experts were impressed by their quality.
“My first thought was they’re incredibly well done,” said digital image expert HanyFarid, who is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and specializes in image analysis. “They are funny, and they’re clever.”
But they also offer a warning: Deepfake technology that has emerged in recent years continues to evolve and improve. And while deepfake videos have not yet been effectively used in many misinformation(虚假消息) campaigns, the danger is growing.
“In the early days, you could see the potential, but it wasn’t even close to being there,” Farid said. “But this felt to me like it was a real step, like we just took a big step forward in the development of this technology.
Synthetic(合成的) digital content, otherwise known as a deepfake, can include anything from an image or video in which one person or object is visually or audibly manipulated(操纵) to say and do something that is fabricated(伪造).
Although Ume used sophisticated visual effects editing, advancements in digital editing through smartphone apps such as Reface, Facetune and even Snapchat have made techniques like face-swapping(换脸) and image altering easier and could cause serious consequences, experts say.
4. What does the creator intend to do according to the text?
A.To attract more attention. | B.To earn much more money. |
C.To play a trick on people. | D.To show technological progress. |
5. What does the word underlined in Para. 7 refer to?
A.The danger is increasing. |
B.The technology is developing. |
C.The deepfake videos are spreading widely. |
D.The deepfake videos are effectively used. |
6. What’s the author’s attitude toward the deepfake videos?
A.Negative. | B.Optimistic. | C.Objective. | D.Pessimistic. |
7. What’s the main idea of the text?
A.The deepfake videos are popular. | B.The deepfake videos raise concern. |
C.The deepfake videos should be stopped. | D.The deepfake technology is advancing. |