UseCasesFor.ai

AI Use Cases

A collection of over 250 uses for artificial intelligence

A continually updated list exploring how different types of AI are used across various industries and AI disciplines,including generative AI use cases, banking AI use cases, AI use cases in healthcare, AI use cases in government, AI use cases in insurance, and more

Sign up

to receive a PDF containing all the use cases and stay updated with the latest AI trends and news (you can always unsubscribe)

Deepfake integration in film production

Introduction

The entertainment industry has always been at the forefront of advancements in technology and with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning, there are new ways how filmmakers can make movies. One such tool is Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), a type of AI that has been employed in the creation of what is known as ‘deepfake’ videos. Deepfakes is a term used to describe the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to produce or modify content in a way that is very difficult to distinguish from the real thing. This has created new ways for film directors in the making of films especially in the visual effects, stand in actors, or even bringing back dead actors. But the application of AI and deepfake in film production as we shall see has its advantages and disadvantages as well as ethical questions that need to be addressed.

Challenges

It is also important to note that the integration of deepfake technology in film production has its challenges as well. The first set of challenges has to do with technical factors such as the quality and the level of realism of the generated content. Currently, deepfake technology can generate results that are, at times, questionable as to whether they are real or not, and the results may look rather off or unreal. Second, there are ethical and legal concerns. Thus, application of deepfake technology poses a number of concerns regarding the consent and the ownership of one’s image. For instance, is it ethical for filmmakers to use AI to act for an actor? What about using it for actors who are no longer alive? Finally, there is the problem of abuse. In the same way that deepfake technology can be employed to create realistic scenes for films, it can also be employed to generate realistic appearing content that is either false and potentially damaging, for example, ‘fake news’ videos or images, or content that was created without the subject’s consent, such as non-consensual pornography.

AI Solutions

In order to mitigate these problems, AI researchers and developers are engaged in the development of various solutions. For example, to enhance the quality of deepfake videos and make them more realistic, researchers are coming up with better Generative Adversarial Networks and other machine learning algorithms. It can be used approaches like the style transfer in which the look of one video is transferred to another to generate more believable deepfake videos. To meet ethical and legal questions, some researchers and developers are creating tools that can identify deepfake content. For example, Facebook’s AI research team has created a deepfake detection model. There are also suggestions that legal and policy frameworks need to be put in place to control the application of deepfake technology. Finally, to avoid the misuse some researchers and developers are developing ways of ‘watermarking’ deepfake content so that it can be identified as such and therefore the viewer will be able to recognize manipulated material.

Benefits

There are however some challenges that come with the integration of AI and deepfake technology in film production. Firstly, it provides more possibilities for storytelling. Filmmakers can come up with scenes or effects that would be hard to do or even impossible with the conventional methods. For instance, in the movie The Irishman, director Martin Scorsese employed AI-based de-aging techniques to make the lead actors appear younger. Secondly, it may cut on costs. Traditional visual effects are costly and take a lot of time to implement while AI can create realistic effects faster and at a cheaper cost. Thirdly, it can provide options for altering the final product that would not be possible otherwise. For instance, in a case where an actor is not available for retakes, the scene may be created by AI. Finally, it can bring back the famous actors who are no more by making them act in new movies.

Return on Investment

It is possible to observe that application of AI and deepfake technology in film production may be profitable. As a result, AI can help to reduce the time and the cost that are usually needed for the creation of visual effects and thus provide a significant cost savings. Also, as AI allows for more creative storytelling and the ability to make changes during post-production, it can assist in developing films which are more likely to be hits at the box office. Also, through the resurrection of deceased actors AI presents new ways of realizing value from an actor’s brand. However, it is crucial to point out that the ROI will vary depending on some factors such as quality of the AI-generated content, ethical and legal implications, and even the possibility of abuse.

Choose Topic