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My cousin showed me a deepfake of our grandma and I didn't know what to think
So last weekend at a family barbecue in Phoenix, my cousin Jake pulled out his phone and played this video of our grandma giving a cooking tutorial on how to make her famous chili. She passed away three years ago, and the video looked so real with her voice and mannerisms. I almost cried until he laughed and said it was a deepfake he made using an old home video and some AI app he found online. Part of me thought it was cool to see her again like that, but another part felt really gross about it like we were messing with something we shouldn't. He was proud of how realistic it turned out and showed me the side by side original and fake. It got me wondering where the line is between honoring someone's memory and just straight up tricking people. Has anyone else had a family member make a deepfake of someone you lost? How did you handle it?
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kimfisher13d ago
That part where you said "messing with something we shouldn't" really stuck with me. The creepy thing is nobody's talking about what happens when those apps get into the wrong hands, like some ex-boyfriend making fake videos of your grandma saying stuff she never would.
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shanef3413d ago
My buddy actually had this happen to him with a voice clone app. Some idiot used old voicemails to make it sound like he was asking for money from his mom. Scary part is the apps are free and super easy to use. Best thing you can do is watermark your social media posts with something personal like a nickname. Also set up a safe word with your close family if they ever get a weird request from you. Most of these apps can't replicate breathing patterns or hesitation sounds yet so listen for that. Delete any voice samples you have floating around online if you can.
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