AI Deepfake Video Stars Harry Potter Characters in a Controversial Fashion Brand's Show…and Even Elon Musk Is Taken Aback The creator is known for realistic yet strange content.
By Amanda Breen Edited by Jessica Thomas
Sometimes AI's power must be seen to be believed, and with increasingly genuine-looking deepfakes, it certainly has been.
YouTuber Demonflyingfox used the technology to create viral videos that reimagine characters from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series and star them in a Balenciaga fashion show, Fox Business reported.
Generative artificial intelligence programs are becoming more popular; they let users input prompts and generate texts or images, per the outlet.
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Demonflyingfox's channel, which features a variety of realistic yet strange adaptations, boasts nearly 60,000 subscribers, and the two videos titled "Harry Potter By Balenciaga" have gained widespread attention, garnering nearly six million views between them.
"I'm constantly brainstorming which combinations and mash-ups of popular media might work," Demonflyingfox told Dazed Digital. "I quickly realized these have to be as unexpected as possible, but still make sense. With his innocent and naive vibe, it worked surprisingly well to put Harry in an adult, cold-world scenario."
Even Elon Musk, who recently signed a letter urging a stop to the rapid development of advanced AI, was impressed, replying with two fire emojis.
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— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 27, 2023
In December 2022, Aviv Ovadya, an internet platform and AI expert who speaks on the dangers of synthetic media, told The Atlantic it's "probably less than five years" until people will be able to type prompts and simple feedback into a program to create "deeply compelling content."
Related: South Park Creators Raise $20 Million for Deepfake Company
