This archive report was first published on 8 September 2019.
Deepfake technology has been making waves online, and the latest example is a video that transposes Will Smith's face onto Keanu Reeves' character Neo in the 1999 film 'The Matrix'. The video, created by YouTuber Sham00K, grafts Smith's face onto Neo's, retaining Reeves' iconic floppy Nineties hair and voice.
The result is a trailer that might have been, had Smith starred in the film alongside Reeves. While it's unsettling to see Smith's computer-manipulated face appear in these scenes, it's also a testament to the actor's bankability in the Nineties.
Deepfake versions of existing movies are becoming increasingly common online, with earlier this year seeing Crtl Shift Face bring two other worlds colliding together by creating a video that put Sylvester Stallone in Arnold Schwarzenegger's place in 'Terminator 2: Judgement Day'. These are novel uses of deepfake technology, but it is considered by many to be a dangerous tool, capable of spreading misinformation and highly susceptible to misuse.
As the internet continues to evolve, it's becoming increasingly difficult to discern what's real and what's not. A high-profile example of this is a video of former president Barack Obama giving a PSA on fake news, which turned out to actually be a hoax cooked up by director Jordan Peele and BuzzFeed.
