In the video below, the star is none other than David Beckham , and in it, you'll see the famous former footballer showcasing his linguistic skills to deliver a message of solidarity in support of malaria research to every corner of the world. The ad has resonated deeply, not only because of the message itself, but also because of the technology behind it—David Beckham doesn't actually speak that many languages. And what the heck, that's not even the real Beckham.
A computer generated David Beckham
Yes, the David Beckham you're seeing has a computer-generated effect that allows him to speak other languages ​​like a native speaker. The secret lies in the technology of Synthesia , a company working on native-level dubbing software with artificial intelligence. This technology, called ENACT, creates a model of the person delivering the main speech and uses recordings generated by a second person (a voice actor) to translate the facial expressions produced during pronunciation into the main model.
We're taking Synthesia to the next level and are proud to announce our recent $3.1M funding round! https://t.co/5hWksXy9EP
— Synthesia (@synthesiaIO) April 25, 2019
In this way, dubbing is achieved over the actor himself, thus making it possible to transform the speech into another language without having to force the person to awkwardly read a text in a language that they do not understand. The possibilities of this system are incredible, and it could not only change the way we communicate in the future, but it could also change the movie industry, allowing voice actors to bring their pronunciation directly to the main actor's face.
The danger of identity theft
But another danger surrounds this technology, and it is the possibility of being able to take speeches to any type of people. This is what already happened with Obama's famous video, where it was shown that technologies of this type would be capable of generating confusion among the public at truly alarming levels. Seeing Synthesia's ability and precision, it is clear that the danger is more than evident. Can you imagine a politician's press conference being boycotted? It sounds like Black Mirror, but watching the videos it's not too hard to imagine.