The 'face-changing AI' is hard to distinguish between real and fake

The 'face-changing AI' using artificial intelligence technology is not only fast, but also difficult to distinguish real from fake. The barrier to entry into this technology is getting lower and lower as a movie that can be face transplanted in China costs only 2 yuan (about more than 7,000 VND).

It is known that now it is very easy to create animated videos of human faces on computers. Last year in Hefei, Anhui province, police discovered that some people could create a dynamic video from a still photo. The simulated characters can not only nod, shake their heads but also have rich expressions such as winking, opening mouth, frowning. extremely realistic.

Police found more than a dozen gigabytes (GB) of facial data in their computers, face photos and national ID card photos stored in different folders under different categories.

'Pictures of the front and back of the ID card, the photo holding the ID card, the self-portrait. is called a set'. This complete set of images is called 'documentation'. Due to the simple production process, a video costs only 2 - 10 yuan (about 7,182 - 35,908 VND).

The eight people involved in this case were all uneducated, some of whom hadn't even finished high school. They downloaded the software according to the online shopping curriculum and spent months self-studying to complete it.

In addition to taking other people's photos, there are now people who buy voices and other 'stuff' for a fee. Only a small amount of audio and video sample data is needed to synthesize lifelike audio and video files.

Therefore, as long as data, such as a person's photo and voice, is available, videos and audio files about this person can be created on a computer. In other words, even seeing a person's video and audio files, it's not necessarily real.

Zhou Quan, director of the Foundational Theoretical Research Center of the Institute of Artificial Intelligence of Tsinghua University in Beijing, said that the rapid development of deep synthesis technology has caused the situation of "seeing through the eyes". eyes are not necessarily real.

In a 'face-changing course' on YouTube, the instructor used a photo of the US president to insert it into a video of a Chinese singer. This person only takes a few minutes to create an impressive effect when the US president sings Chinese songs, it is difficult to detect fake by looking at his mouth.

In addition to facial features, other factors such as age, gender, personality, and emotions are all reflected on the face. All these factors are considered as parameters in the neural network model of artificial intelligence. The computer can infer these parameters by learning and summarizing a large number of images. This process is called 'training'.

To make the image or video look more real after face change, AI face change is usually done with the help of 'Generative Adversarial Network (GAN)'. The generative adversarial network usually consists of 2 parts, one is the Generative Model (abbreviated as G); the second is Discriminant Model (abbreviated as D), which can distinguish faces synthesized by generative model. The two are trained in large scale paintings and they compete against each other to form the opposite.

Once the discriminant model cannot assess the authenticity, it means that the training process is relatively mature. Once the depth model is trained and matured, it imports a face, which can then generate different expressions on this face which can also be replaced by other images or videos. , to achieve seamless integration.

This technology was originally used for post-production on film and television productions. After that, some people in the world used this technology for malicious purposes.

They 'change faces' on photos of celebrities and dignitaries into some videos and synthesize some speeches that don't exist. In addition, some porn sites also implant the faces of famous artists (mostly female artists) into pictures or videos, causing great harm.

In China, so far it has been discovered that some people use it to deceive the identity of the payment system, others also use it to register for mobile phone cards.

Why is it necessary to 'change face' to register a phone card? Because the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been monitoring the public on a large scale for a long time, a real name registration is required to purchase a mobile phone sim. Talking online also needs to confirm the real name, sometimes buying a kitchen knife also needs to use the real name. So changing faces can confront and avoid the CCP's surveillance.

Quy Lam, a software engineer in the Japanese information technology industry, told The Epoch Times that technology itself does not exist for good or bad, only those who use it for good or bad.

Although developed science brings convenience to life, it cannot improve human morality. If people let loose their own desires, on the contrary, science will bring 'irreversible disaster'.