Besides just being really cool, what are some of the clearest use-cases for this?
Where I work in VFX (RSP) we have an ML department and a lot of what they do is about replacing things in footage (face replacement onto double-actors, de-ageing and so on). What they achieve (that brings significant value) seems fairly adjacent to the tech in the article. Our ML crew have the benefit of a strong compositing department (and other support) that can help integrate the results nicely and smooth over any rough edges. The ML team were nominated for a VES award for their work on Furiosa recently!
If this has anything close to usable rigging data (from what I briefly read, it doesn't seem to), this would be a cheap pipeline for generating animations for real time applications out of video references.<p>As it is, it seems like it might help for video editing and VFX. Being able to isolate out a human being lets you do all sorts of editing with less issues that can then be composited over later for a final shot.
Catfishing<p>Convincing older people that their children/relatives are in jail/hospital/kidnapped and need money<p>Disinformation/chaos by faking important speeches by politicians<p>Fake celebrity endorsements of products and causes<p>Rewriting historical events with "newly uncovered" footage<p>Other creative ways of ripping people off and lying
Was thinking trying to look cool on a dating app
> Disinformation/chaos by faking important speeches by politicians<p>I do wonder what the end game here would be. A race to the bottom where any televised speech is brought into question. I wonder if that would destabilize all power bases to the point that people will finally look at the actions of their politicians rather than their words. Wishful thinking perhaps.
100% of the capability could be absorbed by YouTubers looking to improve engagement (read: profit) with more interesting visuals. Since they have a bottomless need for that, this would get widely used within days of a commercial release.<p>Since we live in a social media age, anything that looks "really cool" has basically immediate commercial applications. Even that phrase should set alarm bells off.
Deepfakes and porn.
Even though the examples have a clear green-screen effect, I would think some of the tricks/filters they used in old video games to make them look "realistic/cinematic" could work here, then advertisers would be able to plug in a picture of a model wearing their latest outfit to a stock video for social media and digital ads.
Personalized advertising: you using a new product and visually enjoying it. Blows my mind people do not see this application.
Memes, people will use it for the memes. I saw the NBA footage and yes, i want a gif of me posterizing Ben Simmons.
Bit disappointing that HN of all places can only focus on the negative uses of this... <i>sigh</i><p>Beyond the obvious commercial implications with video content, 2 more use-cases I can think of quickly are:<p>- disabled people able to communicate more fluidly<p>- trans people able to express themselves more freely