UK airs first TV show featuring deepfakes

Comedy Deepfake Neighbor Wars will be the first TV show to use deepfake technology. It opens in the UK on January 26.

27 Jan
2023
– 13:01

(Updated at 4:22 p.m.)

Humorous Deep fake neighborhood wars It will premiere on the ITV channel in the UK in January 2023 and will be the first TV show in the world to use the feature. Deep fake — Technology that changes people’s faces using artificial intelligence.

Described as the first long-form narrative show to use the technology, the show will be produced by Tiger Aspect Productions in association with Studio Neural, which is working on using the innovation.

The show’s script will feature impersonations of artists such as Tom Holland, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj. Apart from them, the team was completed by Rihanna, Adele, Kim Kardashian, Jay Z, Olivia Colman, Stormzy and footballer Harry Kane.

According to Spencer Jones, the program’s creator, use of Deepfake is still very limited and somewhat dangerous. For example, actors cannot hide their faces or express deep expressions because these movements are not captured by the technology. Barney Francis, president of Studio Neural, also commented on the matter:

“We are developing new automated tools, but this is far from a fully automated process. It still requires human intelligence as much as artificial intelligence.

You still have to squeeze a lot of detail into the system and all that stuff, and that takes years of experience and human knowledge. It will be years before there are automated processes that can achieve 4K [ultra HD] like this.”

What does the Deepfake Neighbor Wars program look like?

The premise of the show is to depict a handful of celebrities – or people impersonated by celebrities – living in the same neighborhood and having common routines. By exploring the mundane things of everyday life, the project wants to get a good laugh out of the public.