At MIT, they can put words in our mouths (high tech must see)

Boston Globe ^ | 5/15/2002 | Gareth Cook

[Buffalo Bob]

CAMBRIDGE - Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created the first realistic videos of people saying things they never said - a scientific leap that raises unsettling questions about falsifying the moving image.

In one demonstration, the researchers taped a woman speaking into a camera, and then reprocessed the footage into a new video that showed her speaking entirely new sentences, and even mouthing words to a song in Japanese, a language she does not speak. The results were enough to fool viewers consistently, the researchers report.

[Buffalo Bob]

This technology will prove quite useful when it comes time to round up the Christians and gun owners. They'll be able to show us all guilty of hate crimes and other fun stuff.

[.45MAN]

MAX HEADROOM is here!!!!!!!

[.45MAN]

But scientists warn the technology will also provide a powerful new tool for fraud and propaganda - and will eventually cast doubt on everything from video surveillance to presidential addresses.

No one would ever think of using is for something like that we know that we can believe the media... Video media is our only source of the truth..

[SkyPilot]

"Godzilla!____ -----______ The __---missiles did__________ not kill _______--him!" ---

[Demosthenes]

Still, the new method only seems lifelike for a sentence or two at a time, because over longer stretches, the speaker seems to lack emotion.

Finally, an accurate simulation of Alec Baldwin.

Oh, my bad, that would be lack of intelligence...

[BlackbirdSST]

True, as they warn but,and will eventually cast doubt on everything from video surveillance to presidential addresses. , there is an upside. I say move this forward now. Blackbird.

[Ajnin]

This reminds me of the movie "The Osterman Weekend."

[weegee]

Former Bostonian Conan O'Brien has been working on his own version of this technology for years. See these photos of Conan "interviewing" the impeached former president Clintoon:

[T'wit]

I love it. The politicians, the media and other professional liars won't even have to come to work in the morning. They can tape four minutes of video and then tell lies 24/7/365.

[Prodigal Son]

Hmmm. Aside from the evil applications, perhaps one thing you could make would be a believable human animation. If it were close enough to the real thing, actors/actresses pretty models etc could sell their faces to the guys building the technology. Then when they get a computer smart enough to talk intelligently (carry on a conversation) it could have the face of your choosing to go along with it. It would be like the celebrity/model/scientist/president of your choosing having a personal conversation with you all the time (in a way).

Hillary whispering sweet nothings at your bedside monitor? Any takers? Hmmm? Really kinky?--- Janet Reno.

[Harp]

Conan's use of the technology is already far superior! ^^