New hyperrealistic “deep fake” AI images are fooling everyone. Now how will human beings separate reality from fiction?

Abe Lincoln hangs out with Ryan Reynolds, but how?

Recent deep fake AI generated images of the Pope wearing a cool (?) winter parka, Donald Trump doing stuff, and Joe Biden also doing stuff have prompted experts to warn that internet villains everywhere can use this new technology to trick us at every turn, convincing the masses that the ex-president is getting smacked down by cops or the former president is giving people piggy-back rides in front of Air Force One. 
 
Using our own AI, the Intergalactic Business Report produced its own deep fakes to see how far we could take this deception. The results were, well, scary, as we made photo-realistic images of celebrities, politicians, and athletes that couldn’t possibly be true, even though they appeared so. Have a look and you be the judge:

Ryan Reynolds just hanging out with Abe Lincoln? While it looks like just that, in reality, this is merely a fantasy. Even if you look carefully, you are unable to see the contrast in images that separate these two figures. It appears they are simply enjoying some time together, perhaps chatting about contemporary politics. But think again. Because contemporary politics would be very different for these two, considering one of them died in 1865 and the other was born in 1976 (yes, that’s NINETEEN seventy-six, almost one hundred years later).

​Here we see actor Matthew McConaughey with that guy who had the mullet and chose number 69 because, well, of course he did. Is McConaughey attending a Vikings game and chatting it up with Jarred Allen? Or are they not even in the same place at the same time? If you guessed the latter you would be…. CORRECT. This deep deep fake picture comes from merged images found on the internet, making the viewer (you) believe this was actually happening. It WAS NOT.

​This final entry features a meeting between Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin and… actor Ryan Reynolds! What? Putin is meeting with Ryan Reynolds, you ask? About what? Aviator Gin and Mint Mobile? Or maybe about some crappy movie? Huh? Believe it or not, this photo is not fake and was taken from a secret meeting between the two at a summit held near Reynold’s North Canada dojo. 
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What does all of this tell us about the new AI deep fake technology? First, that it is impossible to tell reality from fake news. And second, what the fuck is Ryan Reynolds doing with Vladimir Putin? These questions must be considered as carefully as they were asked and lead us to new and better solutions. If this has taught us anything it’s that when we see something on the internet, we should always trust but verify. 

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