Deepest Fake

A new deepfake is disturbingly realistic — the AI projects famous podcaster Joe Rogan’s face onto that of an actor and also alters their voice to sound like him.

The software is the latest from the AI startup Dessa, which previously created a tool that makes audio footage sound just like Rogan’s voice. The system isn’t perfect — tiny errors appear as the person having his face replaced moves his head around — but it is a troubling sign that believable deepfake videos are finally here.

Pound Of Cure

Along with its highly advanced deepfake, Dessa also released new algorithmic tools to help people detect deepfakes and separate real from synthesized videos.

In a new blog post, the company details how it learned and trained tools to scan videos of faces to pick out the fakes. Advanced deepfakes have the potential to undermine public trust in democracy and the media, but at least we’ll be able to use an algorithm that tells us whether or not someone is really Joe Rogan.

More on deepfakes: This AI That Sounds Just Like Joe Rogan Should Terrify us All