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Someone Used a Deep Learning AI To Perfectly Insert Harrison Ford Into "Solo: A Star Wars Story" (gizmodo.com)

Posted by msmash on from the pushing-the-limits dept.

Andrew Liszewski, writing for io9: Casting anyone other than Harrison Ford in the role of Han Solo just feels like sacrilege, but since Ford is now 76 years old, playing a younger version of himself would be all but impossible. Or at least impossible if you rely on the standard Hollywood de-aging tricks like makeup and CG. Artificial intelligence, it turns out, does a pretty amazing job at putting Ford back into the role of Solo. The YouTube channel "derpfakes" has been posting videos that demonstrate the impressive, and at times frightening, capabilities of image processing using artificial intelligence. Using a process called deep learning, an AI analyzes a large collection of photos of a given person, creating a comprehensive database of them in any almost any position and pose. It then uses that database to intelligently perform an automatic face replacement on a source clip, in this case replacing actor Alden Ehrenreich's face with Harrison Ford's.

5 of 130 comments (clear)

  1. Not bad, but not perfect by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It's far from perfect, and the bitrate on that video is abysmal. If he tried this on Blu-ray footage and kept the quality up, Harrison Ford's face would stick out like a sore... face.

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    1. Re:Not bad, but not perfect by cyn1c77 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's far from perfect, and the bitrate on that video is abysmal. If he tried this on Blu-ray footage and kept the quality up, Harrison Ford's face would stick out like a sore... face.

      But if this is a single user effort, imagine what the resources of a movie studio could do with the concept.

  2. But the really big questions are .. by OzPeter · · Score: 5, Funny

    Can they erase Jar-Jar? Or replace Hayden Christensen with an actual wooden post?

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  3. Re:Deep Fakes should be illegal by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Using them in sexual videos without their consent should be considered sexual assult.

    I'm all for protecting people from sexual assault and harm, but really? This is what you call assault? Let me guess, if someone looks at you and you don't want them to, you consider it sexual assault. This is the problem with calling everyone Hitler, or a racist, mysognist, pedophile, etc. After a while those words have no meaning and you have to amp it up even further.

    How about we call it misuse of someone's likeness, or just plain rude and obnoxious. If there are laws against this, then they should be charged. But let's not go full tilt stupid.

  4. Re: Deep Fakes should be illegal by wed128 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ok, here's the problem. I have a neighbor that's on the sex offender database. I asked him about it.

    Turns out, he was caught peeing an an alley next to a bar. Being a little gross, but harming nobody. The cop booked him for indecent exposure, and it snowballed from there.

    All of a sudden, there's no line between a rapist and a drunk kid. Do you see the problem with labeling everything as "Sexual Assault"?