Imagine someone creating a deepfake video of you simply by stealing your Facebook profile picture.

Artificial intelligence developed by a Samsung lab in Russia can fabricate video from a single image, including a photo or a painting. Even the Mona Lisa can be faked and turned into a convincing real person.

A paper published by the Samsung artificial intelligence lab shows the ability to convincingly turn artworks and celebrity photographs into moving images. 

Through the technology convincing “deep fake” videos may be produced, created just with still images of a person’s face- videos showing politicians and even people who have died saying things they had never said.

The paintings are animated using the facial expressions of a real person, while celebrity photographs of figures such as David Beckham are turned into videos using footage of them speaking on different occasions. 

The researchers also tasted the technology on images of Marilyn Monroe and Albert Einstein, using the moving facial features of other people which were then ‘mapped’ onto the celebrities’ faces, a technique that is known as ‘puppeteering’. 

The technology can be used for fun, like bringing a classic portrait to life. The Mona Lisa, which we know exists solely as a single still image, is animated by Samsung artificial intelligence lab in three different clips to demonstrate the new technology.

On the other hand, concerns have been raised about the potential uses of such technology in the wrong hands. Such technology creates risk of misinformation and fake videos created in order to influence public perception of a politician.

Last year US lawmakers warned that such technology could be damaging to national security.  Researchers have created convincing fake videos of figures including former US president Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

According to CNET.