How Real Are Deepfakes?

Have you seen Tom Cruise doing insane things on the internet? Not the insane things he does in every Mission: Impossible movie, but things that seem strange… even for him. If so, you probably saw a Tom Cruise deepfake: a piece of synthetic media in which a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else's likeness (in this case, Tom Cruise). Deepfakes are easier to execute than ever, which means they're more prevalent on the internet… and more liable to cause trouble. Deepfakes, like all technology, have good and bad uses. If you've seen The Mandalorian, Rogue One, or one of any number of other recent movies or TV shows, you've seen deepfakes used in fun and exciting ways. But if you've spent time on social media, you've likely seen deepfakes used for more nefarious reasons (like a video featuring Nancy Pelosi that made the rounds a few years ago). In this episode, we talk about the science and tech behind deepfakes before doing a round-up of new release TV… only to circle back around to the ways technology has enhanced the entertainment we've been enjoying for decades. (We're good at this podcasting thing.)