Democracy Dies in Darkness

Ready or not, mass video deepfakes are coming

A start-up’s appearance on primetime TV heralds a new era, backers say. Others warn we should stay in the current one.

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An image from “America's Got Talent,” in which deepfake company Metaphysic has a young Simon Cowell sing to the current one. The technology is gaining currency — and controversy. (Fremantle)
7 min

It was mainly out of self-amusement that Chris Ume decided to create a fake Tom Cruise.

The special-effects artist wanted to try something different during the doldrums of 2020. So working with a Tom Cruise look-alike, he used AI and facial-mapping technology to invent a series of comedic deepfake videos and, in early 2021, unleashed them on TikTok. The DeepTomCruise account quickly became popular, then vanished from the public mind, replaced by the next viral diversion.