Can't dance? There's AI technology for that.
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have found another way artificial intelligence can be used to create fake videos: making you look like a professional dancer.
The system can train itself to render lifelike images of anyone performing the dance moves of pop star Bruno Mars or a ballet dancer.
The system works by essentially capturing the poses and motions of the professional dancer and then mapping them on to the body of the amateur, the researchers wrote in their paper, which was released this week. The system first does this by breaking down images of both the professional and amateur into stick figure-like images. This is done so it can easily read the movements of one body and then puppet the other to follow along.
The technology will then create some image fakery with the help of an AI-powered algorithm called generative adversarial networks (GANs), which have proven to be adept at creating photorealistic images of people.
GANs essentially work by pitting two neural networks against each other to complete a certain goal. This can be effective when it comes to image generation; one network will be assigned to synthesizing the images, the other will act as a "
"These two networks are trained simultaneously and drive each other to improve, as the generator must learn to synthesize more realistic images to deceive the discriminator," the UC Berkeley researchers wrote in their paper.
In their experiments, the researchers filmed about 20 minutes of real-time footage of their amateur dancers performing a range of movements. The AI system then had enough data to begin synthesizing fake video sequences. One GAN was also incorporated to specifically render realistic faces and expressions to go along with body movements.
The results aren't perfect. For instance, the system struggles to replicate the movements of a ballet dancer performing kicks and spin moves. Nevertheless, the technology can certainly be used for amusing effect.
The researchers titled their paper "Everybody Dance Now," alluding to the almost limitless possibilities of what AI-powered video generation can achieve — for better or worse. Others have used the technology to create porn that's been modified with the faces of celebrities without their consent, often referred to as
The UC Berkeley researchers noted their own system was developed without the need for "expensive 3D or motion capture data." Time will tell if their demonstration will lead to an explosion of fake dance videos.