The deepfake machine
An interactive exhibit made for the Science Museum Fake Lates in March 2023. The deepfake machine is a live deepfake experience showcasing the conflict between the fascinating, yet unsettling, nature of deepfakes.
With deepfake technology becoming increasing popular, issues of it being largely accessible and unregulated, due to the software being open-source, are rising. When anyone has the power to create a deepfake or augment their appearance to look like someone else, it raises the question: who do these faces belong to?
I used a software called DeepFaceLive to alter the appearance of an input source face and had a diverse selection of celebrities and politicians to choose from, with individual verbal prompts for each figure. The deepfake would then be revealed accompanied by a problematic background (OnlyFans, strip club, mugshot, etc.), presenting the dangerous uses of deepfakes when left in the wrong hands.
This exhibit was very popular and generated lots of laughter and a mixture of reactions, leaving some disturbed, but most entertained.
