Deepfake

Imagine a deceased loved one’s voice coming out of this cute, cuddly Alexa speaker in the hallway.Photo: Victoria Song / GizmodoThose weird “loved ones come back from the dead to visit you” stunts pulled by celebrities like Kanye West may soon become a reality through your digital assistant.At Amazon’s re:MARS conference, the company announced it’s working on a feature that can synthesize short audio clips of a person’s voice and then reprogram it as longer speech. Amazon’s Senior Vice President and Head Scientist for…

The Voicemod app now includes voices for rough approximations of Morgan Freeman, HAL-9000, and more.Screenshot: VoicemodI wanted to see how alike I could be to HAL-9000 in my own, ragged rendition of the song Daisy Bell. It turns out, I actually sound better as the vague approximation of the demented artificial intelligence from 2001: A Space Odyssey than either HAL’s actor Douglas Rain or my normal, human voice.The Spain-based company Voicemod revealed its new beta AI Voices product Wednesday that promotes it uses AI to…

European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton told Reuters that upcoming regulations on the tech industry would be a “backbone” for enforcing disinformation moderation.Photo: STEPHANE MAHE / POOL / AFP (Getty Images)Big tech companies are getting a kick in the keister to start sorting out the mess of disinformation on their online platforms or else face a financial spanking with a pretty massive paddle.Reuters reported that the European Commission plans to release new rules on Thursday that will require big…

Deepfake technology, which helps simulate speech and interaction using a person's image, is notorious for its misuse in misinformation campaigns and in revenge pornography, as well as its use in pop culture. The synthetic media technology is also being used by companies for innovative advertisements — some have used it to create customisable ads for users, while others have brought celebrities face-to-face with their past selves. Companies offering the technology to brands have also sprung up, bringing easier access to…