Incident 39: Deepfake Obama Introduction of Deepfakes

Description: University of Washington researchers made a deepfake of Obama, followed by Jordan Peele

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Alleged: University of Washington and FakeApp developed and deployed an AI system, which harmed Barack Obama.

Incident Stats

Incident ID
39
Report Count
29
Incident Date
2017-07-01
Editors
Sean McGregor

CSETv0 Taxonomy Classifications

Taxonomy Details

Full Description

In 2017, researchers at the University of Washington used 14 hours of audio and video clips spoken by President Barack Obama to create a deepfake video. One year later, comedian Jordan Peele also created a fake video of Obama to highlight the ease of faking public statements, but used his own voice impression instead.

Short Description

University of Washington researchers made a deepfake of Obama, followed by Jordan Peele

Severity

Negligible

Harm Type

Harm to social or political systems

AI System Description

In the 2017 case, a recurrent neural network was used to generate synthetic video. In the 2018 case, a proprietary model developed by FakeApp was used to generate synthetic video.

System Developer

University of Washington, FakeApp

Sector of Deployment

Information and communication

Relevant AI functions

Perception, Action

AI Techniques

GANs, RNNs

AI Applications

Content curation

Location

Unknown

Named Entities

University of Washington, Jordan Peele, Barack Obama

Technology Purveyor

University of Washington, Jordan Peele

Beginning Date

2017-07-01

Ending Date

2018-01-01

Near Miss

Near miss

Intent

Deliberate or expected

Lives Lost

No

Data Inputs

14 hours of footage from Obama's public statements and addresses (2017), Jordan Peele's voice and lip movements (2018)

GMF Taxonomy Classifications

Taxonomy Details

Known AI Goal

Deepfake Video Generation

Known AI Technology

Neural Network, Face Detection, Recurrent Neural Network, Generative Adversarial Network

Potential AI Technology

3D reconstruction

Potential AI Technical Failure

Misinformation Generation Hazard

CSETv1 Taxonomy Classifications

Taxonomy Details

Harm Distribution Basis

none

Sector of Deployment

Arts, entertainment and recreation, professional, scientific and technical activities

AI Creates Fake Obama

AI Creates Fake Obama

spectrum.ieee.org

Researchers make a surprisingly smooth artificial video of Obama
engadget.com · 2017

The researchers used 14 hours of Obama's weekly address videos to train a neural network. Once trained, their system was then able to take an audio clip from the former president, create mouth shapes that synced with the audio and then synt…

AI Creates Fake Obama
spectrum.ieee.org · 2017

Photo: University of Washington.

Artificial intelligence software could generate highly realistic fake videos of former president Barack Obama using existing audio and video clips of him, a new study [PDF] finds.

Such work could one day hel…

Video-editing AI makes fake Obama videos that look real
siliconangle.com · 2017

In a post-Photoshop world, most of us know that pictures can’t always be trusted. Now, thanks to artificial intelligence, it looks like video might lie to us too.

Researchers at the University of Washington have developed an AI that can alt…

AI-Fueled Lip Syncing Creates Obama Puppet Master Sparking New Era In Fake News Videos
hothardware.com · 2017

Many of us have had to heed the warning of, "Don't put words in my mouth" at some point over the course of our lives, but generally speaking, no one actually means it from in a literal sense. In time, though, thanks to deep learning and art…

Crazy Realistic Forgery Video Of Barack Obama Was Generated By A Lip-Syncing AI
digitaltrends.com · 2017

Well, we’re sorry to tell you that things are about to get much, much worse!

At least, that’s based on a frankly crazy demonstration of artificial intelligence carried out by computer scientists at the University of Washington. Using a cutt…

Scarily Realistic AI Video Software Puts Words in Obama's Mouth
sciencealert.com · 2017

Researchers have developed a new tool, powered by artificial intelligence, that can create realistic-looking videos of speech from any audio clip, and they've demoed the tech by synthesising four artificial videos of Barack Obama saying the…

Fake Obama created using AI tool to make phoney speeches
bbc.com · 2017

Researchers at the University of Washington have produced a photorealistic former US President Barack Obama.

Artificial intelligence was used to precisely model how Mr Obama moves his mouth when he speaks.

Their technique allows them to put…

Researchers have figured out how to fake news video with AI
qz.com · 2017

If you thought the rampant spread of text-based fake news was as bad as it could get, think again. Generating fake news videos that are undistinguishable from real ones is growing easier by the day.

A team of computer scientists at the Univ…

Fake Obama speech created using artificial intelligence
stuff.co.nz · 2017

A computer programme has been created that can edit videos of people speaking to make it look like they have said something when they haven't.

Researchers at the University of Washington have produced a realistic video of former US presiden…

This AI can create a video of Barack Obama saying anything
weforum.org · 2017

In news that has made pranksters around the world pay attention, there is now a computer program that can create a realistic simulated video of someone speaking.

Researchers at the University of Washington have proved their point by creatin…

AI tool generates fake President Obama speeches
thedrum.com · 2017

He may no longer be president of the White House but former US president Barack Obama is still making some presidential speeches, although all is not as it appears.

Despite looking and sounding exactly like the real deal the new Obama is ac…

The future of fake news: don't believe everything you read, see or hear
theguardian.com · 2017

A new breed of video and audio manipulation tools allow for the creation of realistic looking news footage, like the now infamous fake Obama speech

In an age of Photoshop, filters and social media, many of us are used to seeing manipulated …

How to Synthesize a Fake Obama Video with Artificial Neural Networks
thenewstack.io · 2017

It seems that nowadays, there isn’t a day that passes by without someone proclaiming “fake news” — that now-infamous phrase that rose to prominence during the last American election and is now being bandied about ad nauseum.

But as any inte…

'Deep fakes': How to know what's true in the fake-Obama video era
abc.net.au · 2018

A neural network trained on hours of footage to produce this video of President Barack Obama lipsyncing.

It always starts with porn.

What first revealed the internet's power to distribute information? The immense and immediate explosion of …

Watch Jordan Peele use AI to make Barack Obama deliver a PSA about fake news
theverge.com · 2018

What does the future of fake news look like? No one really knows, but here’s a little sampler from Jordan Peele and BuzzFeed, who teamed up to make the above PSA. Using some of the latest AI techniques, Peele ventriloquizes Barack Obama, ha…

Jordan Peele turns Obama into a foul-mouthed fake-news PSA
cnet.com · 2018

It starts with a clickbait-y title -- "You Won't Believe What Obama Says In This Video!" -- and then delivers on that promise.

Buzzfeed released a video on Tuesday that at first appears to show former US President Barack Obama conveying a w…

dailydot.com · 2018

Fake news comes in all shapes and sizes, and unfortunately, it’s becoming more difficult to detect as technology advances. Courtesy of BuzzFeed and Get Out director Jordan Peele, we now have an appropriately terrifying idea of what it may l…

This AI video of Barack Obama is the disturbing future of fake news
notebookcheck.net · 2018

An exercise in creating a humorous faked video of Barack Obama is in reality a disturbing preview of how AI can be used to manipulate ordinary people. Ironically, it turns out, AI might also be our savior from fake news at the same time.

Wo…

Watch Jordan Peele use AI to make Obama talk about fake news
siliconrepublic.com · 2018

The technology has both astounded and frightened people in equal measure, but a new video highlights just how influential AI has become in news reporting.

Not so long ago – and even today – the authenticity of a piece of news was based on p…

Barack Obama fake news video highlights dangers of AI
washingtontimes.com · 2018

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Fake news, meet artificial intelligence.

A video created by Oscar-winning filmmaker Jordan Peele and released by BuzzFeed appears to show Barack Obama referencing the movie “Black Panther,” remarking on HUD Secretary Ben C…

Creepy "Barack Obama" video shows how easy it is to manipulate what people say [video]
thesouthafrican.com · 2018

We live in crazy times, where #FakeNews and data gathering is increasingly shaping the discourse.

The revelations from the Cambridge Analytica have shed some light on just how deep the rabbit hole goes.

According to the New York Times and B…

Jordan Peele Made a Fake Obama Video to Prove How Easily Conned We Are
gq.com · 2018

If you, like me, believe yourself to be a scrupulous consumer of news, full of healthy skepticism and too smart for that fake-news bullshit, Jordan Peele has got a big, stiff-ass cup of wake-the-hell-up for you. Yesterday, Peele released a …

Jordan Peele Warns “Effed-up Dystopia” Using AI to Make Fake Obama Video
geek.com · 2018

The problem with reality is that discerning what truly is can take an enormous amount of work. Take science, for instance. There is actually pretty consistent data on what types of food most should be eating — particularly if you do deep di…

A.I. Video Depicting Barack Obama Shows Dangers of Fake News
blackenterprise.com · 2018

There’s a video making its rounds online in which former President Barack Obama is cosigning the efforts of Erik Killmonger in Black Panther, offering a controversial opinion about HUD Secretary Ben Carson, and calling President Donald Trum…

Barack Obama on How AI Will Affect Jobs
etftrends.com · 2018

How will artificial intelligence affects jobs?

Let’s hear from Barack Obama on the future of the world.

To learn more, check out: 10 Key Robotics Facts You Need to Know and 10 Ways Robotics Could Transform Our Future.

Obama tech advisor: Fun’s over for AI-driven ‘Deep Fake’ video
computerworld.com.au · 2018

“All of this is fun and late night comedy and video games – until it isn’t,” says former White House senior advisor David Edelman

David Edelman, former special adviser to Presidents Bush and Obama on technology and cyber security, was worki…

AIs created our fake video dystopia but now they could help fix it
wired.co.uk · 2018

Rami Niemi

“President Trump is a complete and total dipshit.” So announced Barack Obama, in a video released on YouTube earlier this year. Uncharacteristic, certainly, but it appeared very real. It was, however, a falsified video made — by …

The New AI Tech Turning Heads in Video Manipulation
singularityhub.com · 2018

A new technique using artificial intelligence to manipulate video content gives new meaning to the expression “talking head.”

An international team of researchers showcased the latest advancement in synthesizing facial expressions—including…

How 'Deep Fakes' Became Easy - And Why That's So Scary
fortune.com · 2018

A minute-long video of Barack Obama has been seen more than 4.8 million times since April. It shows the former U.S. president seated, with the American flag in the background, speaking directly to the viewer and using an obscenity to refer …

Variants

A "variant" is an incident that shares the same causative factors, produces similar harms, and involves the same intelligent systems as a known AI incident. Rather than index variants as entirely separate incidents, we list variations of incidents under the first similar incident submitted to the database. Unlike other submission types to the incident database, variants are not required to have reporting in evidence external to the Incident Database. Learn more from the research paper.

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