Researchers at MIT’s Center for Advanced Virtuality have created a deepfake video of President Richard Nixon discussing a failed moon landing. “[The video is] meant to serve as a warning of the coming wave of impressively realistic deepfake false videos about to hit us that use A.I. to convincingly reproduce the appearance and sound of real people,” write Aaron Pressman and David Z. Morris for Fortune.
Boston 25’s Chris Flanagan reports that MIT researchers developed a website aimed at educating the public about deepfake technology and misinformation. “This project is part of an awareness campaign to get people aware of what is possible with both AI technologies like our deepfake, but also really simple video editing technologies,” says Francesca Panetta, XR creative director at MIT’s Center for Advanced Virtuality.
MIT researchers created a deepfake video and website to help educate the public of the dangers of deepfakes and misinformation, reports Mike Wall for Space.com. “This alternative history shows how new technologies can obfuscate the truth around us, encouraging our audience to think carefully about the media they encounter daily,” says Francesca Panetta, XR creative director at MIT’s Center for Advanced Virtuality.
Scientific American explores how MIT researchers created a new website aimed at exploring the potential perils and possibilities of deepfakes. “One of the things I most love about this project is that it’s using deepfakes as a medium and the arts to address the issue of misinformation in our society,” says Prof. D. Fox Harrell.
Boston Globe reporter Steve Annear spotlights an MIT Admissions video that shows “Iron Man” superhero Riri Williams building her iconic suit on campus. Stuart Schmill, dean of admissions, says the Admissions Office videos, which are created as a lighthearted way to announce when admissions decisions will be available, “capture the spirit of this place and what students love to do.”
MIT senior Lilly Chin, winner of the 2017 Jeopardy! College Championship, speaks to Paris Alston of WGBH about her experience on the competition. “I wasn’t expecting to get in, I just wanted to have some fun with it,” Chin says about initially trying out for the quiz show.
Lilly Chin, a senior at MIT majoring in electrical engineering and computer science, won the 2017 Jeopardy! College Championship, reports Kenneth Singletary for The Boston Globe. Singletary notes that “for her efforts, Chin won $100,000 and a chance to play on the Tournament of Champions.”
Mickey Edwards of The Los Angeles Times reviews Prof. Heather Hendershot’s book about William Buckley. “Hendershot is clever to have used his 'Firing Line' television show as an introduction to both Buckley and the rise of conservative intellectual opposition to the liberal orthodoxy,” writes Edwards.
In this video, Prof. Heather Hendershot speaks with Mary Kissel of The Wall Street Journal about her new book examining the impact of William F. Buckley’s program the “Firing Line.” “He was the key player in forging a sophisticated, urban, elegant image for right wing conservatism. And that got me interested in him,” Hendershot explains.
MIT researchers have developed a system that allows users to interact with video simulations, writes Joanna Goodman for The Guardian. The system “uses video to virtualize physical content so that it can interact with virtual content, so that when you see – on your smartphone – a Pokémon interact with a flexible object, you also see that object react.”
A new imaging technique developed by MIT researchers creates video simulations that people can interact with, writes Charles Choi for Scientific American. “In addition to fueling game development, these advances could help simulate how real bridges and buildings might respond to potentially disastrous situations,” Choi explains.
CSAIL researchers have created an algorithm that makes videos interactive, writes Andrew Freedman for Fox News. Freedman explains how this technology could transform games like Pokémon Go, “With interactive dynamic video, the Spearow could interact with the leaves rather than simply sit on top of them.”Reach in and touch objects in videos with “Interactive Dynamic Video”
BBC News reports that CSAIL researchers have created an algorithm that can manipulate still objects in photographs and videos. The technique doesn’t require any special cameras, which makes it great for improving the realism in augmented reality games like Pokémon Go.
Alyssa Newcomb writes for NBC News that MIT researchers have developed a system that allows users to interact with virtual objects. Newcomb explains that the “technology could be used to make movies or even by engineers wanting to find out how an old bridge may respond to inclement weather.”
CSAIL researchers have created a tool that allows people to interact with videos, writes Mary Beth Griggs for Popular Science. The technique could “make augmented reality animations integrate even more with the 'reality' part of augmented reality, help engineers model how structures will react when different forces are applied, or as a less expensive way to create special effects.”