covering the week's top textbooks like
Linux - a new paper published by Disney
research describes a fully automated
neural network based method for swapping
faces in photos and videos the first
method that results in high resolution
results of sufficient quality to be used
in film and TV
the researchers specifically intend this
tech for use in replacing it and
existing actors performance with a
substitute actors face for instance
wendy aging or increasing the age of
someone or potentially when portraying
an actor who has passed away they also
suggest it could be used for replacing
the faces of stunt doubles in cases
where the conditions of a scene call for
them to be used this method is unique
from other approaches in a number of
ways including that any face used in the
set can be swapped with any recorded
performance making it possible to
relatively easily re image the actors on
demand the other is that it recreates
contrast and lighting conditions to
ensure the actor looks like they are
actually present in the same conditions
as the scene you can check out the
results for yourself in this video as
you can see there's still a hint of
uncanny valley going on here but the
researchers acknowledge that in their
paper calling this a major step toward
photorealistic face swapping that can
successfully bridge the uncanny valley
it is still a lot more realistic than
other attempts which is especially
apparent when you've seen the
side-by-side comparisons with other
techniques most notably it works at much
higher resolution which is key for
actual entertainment industry use
considering the example of using this
technique for a stunt double the real is
realism could come across as being
incredibly realistic the examples
presented are a super small sample so it
remains to be seen how broadly this can
be applied subjects used appear to be
primarily white for instance also
there's always the question of the
ethical implication of any use of face
swapping technology especially in video
as it could be used to fabricate
credible video or photographic evidence
thing that didn't actually happen given
however that the technology is now in
development from multiple quarters it's
essentially long past the time for
debate about the ethics of its
development and exploration instead it's
welcomed at organizations like Disney
Research are following the academic path
and sharing the results of their work so
that others concerned about its
potential Melissa malicious use and
determine ways to flag identify and
protect against any bad actors