What is it?
Zao is a face-swapping app that uses clips from films and TV shows, convincingly changing a character’s face by using selfies from the user’s phone
How does it work?
Upload a photo and it will swap DiCaprio’s face with a user’s in a 30-second mashup of clips from his films.
My thoughts? Privacy and Security Issues
1. What is the company doing with the photos?
Zao’s original user agreement said that people who upload their images had agreed to surrender the intellectual property rights to their face and allow their images to be used for marketing purposes
2. WeChat, China’s ubiquitous messaging service, and social media platform banned links to Zao, citing security risks
3. Smile to Pay facial-recognition system
Deepfake?
1. According to Wikipedia, Deepfake (a portmanteau of “deep learning” and “fake”) is a technique for human image synthesis based on artificial intelligence.
2. It uses a machine learning technique known as generative adversarial network.
Voice Deepfake:
Thieves stole over $240,000 by using voice-mimicking software to trick a company’s employee
3. The academic research on Deepfake:
“Synthesizing Obama” program, published in 2017, modifies video footage of former President Barack Obama to depict him mouthing the words contained in a separate audio track. The project lists as the main research contribution its photorealistic technique for synthesizing mouth shapes from audio.
4. Abuses of Deepfake:
– used to create fake celebrity pornographic videos.
– used to create fake news and malicious hoaxes.
– used to misrepresent well-known politicians on video portals or chatrooms