Deepfake video may sound scary, but don’t ignore its benefits..
Read length: 5–7 minutes
Deepfake. It’s a horrible sounding word, used to describe how evil geniuses are using Artificial Intelligence to create realistic #fakenews to control our minds… right?
Yes and no.
Arthur C Clarke said “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”, and if you believe the press, deepfakes are black magic that needs control. But, if you can look past the negative uses, this new AI video production technology could have real advantages for your brand or business.
What is Deepfake video?
I’ll avoid the technical, but if you want more there’s a great piece here.
Deepfake videos are generally created using AI techniques and tools to compete against each other to create a new piece of video you believe is real. Saying that, it’s not all fake — the original source video is normally real and often the changes are also another piece of real footage, such as someone talking to camera. But, the final whole video is “fake”.
It is, of course, easier to explain with examples.
At the moment, the common usage seems to be putting words into someone else’s mouth. Like this example of Mark Zuckerberg talking about how the man who owns all the data rules the world.
But, it can even completely change the face, like swapping Jack Nicolson for Jim Carrey in the Shining.
OK, yes it can feel uncomfortable to watch when you know it’s not real.
Up until now, the technology has not been good enough to truly fool us. This gave use some protection, because we could always tell what was fake. In robotics, they call this the “Uncanny Valley”, that feeling you get when you know something is not human, but is very close to it and you start to feel an emotional response.
The important thing to realise though, is that Deepfake is a badge that’s been given to this amazing technology when used in a negative way. There are many positive ways it could also be used.
So, why would I use “Deepfake” technology?
If you remove the creepiness, this technology is bloody amazing. Mind-blowing even. It can offer a new world of creative and production opportunities. So, from now on let’s refer to it as AI Assisted Video Production (sorry, I couldn’t think of anything snappier), and it’s already being used in good ways too.
Malaria No More recently used David Beckham to front their campaign, but using AI production they took creative a step further by using actual Malaria Ambassadors from around the world, in
their own voice and language. But, all through David’s mouth.
But, if you take this further, you could change that message next month. You may need Beckham’s approval, but you wouldn’t need to shoot him again.
Talent is a great way to promote your brand, but their time is always limited. Imagine if you could use talent in a totally different way — one shoot, but then change it afterwards. You could even do reactive content weekly or monthly without a whole setup and crew. It could still be them talking, but they could just video themselves on their phone and send a clip from anywhere in the world. The AI production is then done afterwards.
A less high profile but just as valuable use of the technology is customer service, sales or product demo videos. Imagine being able to change content after a product update, or add new languages without re-shooting.
This example from Synthesia shows an actress talking into her phone and it being mapped onto the original video.
Internal comms too. Your CEO is on holiday and an urgent PR response is needed. Just get him to record it on his phone. Or you can talk to all your global staff in their language by mapping on foreign language voices.
The list goes on. Any scenario where you have restricted talent, need fast turnaround or regular updates could take advantage of this technology.
Can I use it now?
Yes. The technology is moving at a fast pace and in the future, you’ll even be able to do it in-house with simple tools. But, at the moment you’ll need to work with production experts.
Why shouldn’t I ignore AI-assisted video production?
This technology is amazing and in the right hands, it provides massive opportunities at both ends of the content spectrum. From using it to develop disruptive, thumb-stopping, creative ideas to helping deliver production efficiencies by never needing to fully re-shoot to update or expand your existing needs.
Right now, it also has PR value and I’m sure we’ll see a few more awards next year handed to brands and agencies who get on board.
What should I do next?
As always, step 1 is to stop and think about how this technology could be applied to help your business stand out. Using the focus points of creativity and mass production, think about how you can engage and excite key teams such as marketing, internal comms, training & HR. There may be briefs that could be changed right now.
Next time you are with you creative and production agencies, check they are up to speed on the opportunity too. Or, If you have an idea and want to go for it with your in-house team reach out to a company like Synthesia, who delivered the AI production on the Malaria and Training examples I used above.
Don’t think about this as an “innovation” budget. It may be new technology, but the usage is still one of your existing marketing outputs. Please also remember to only also use this technology responsibly.
Don’t ignore aims to bring senior marketers (or just those interested) a simple explanation of what not to ignore in the tech and marketing world. If you want to read more just Follow me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrmarkdavis
