Tencent Cloud to reportedly offer deepfake creation tool at $145

Tencent Cloud — the cloud services provider arm of Chinese tech giant Tencent — has launched a new digital human production platform allowing users to create deepfakes of any individual based on a three-minute video clip and 100 sentences of voice material.

Tencent Cloud’s deepfake generator uses Tencent’s in-house artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to recreate fake videos of an individual. Scammers have widely adopted deepfake videos to mislead investors by impersonating prominent figures. In 2022, Tesla CEO Elon Musk warned against the rising number of deepfakes impersonating him to promote cryptocurrency scams.

Yikes. Def not me.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 25, 2022

As reported by local media Jiemian, Tencent Cloud’s service can analyze and train itself on three-minute videos and 100 voice clips to produce a convincing deepfake video within 24 hours. The deepfake creation service costs roughly 1,000 yuan or $145.

News media outlet The Register reportedly confirmed the development with Tencent and highlighted that the service could develop deepfakes in Chinese and English. The creation of digital humans is offered in five styles: 3D realistic, 3D semi-realistic, 3D cartoon, 2D real person and 2D cartoon.

Tencent intends to use the service for hosting live-streamed infomercials for the Chinese demographic. Jiemian’s report reveals that other applications of deepfakes may include representing “doctors, lawyers and other professionals.”

Related: Here’s how to quickly spot a deepfake crypto scam — cybersecurity execs

Simultaneously, other Chinese tech giants, including Huawei and Baidu, have started developing their own versions of generative AI tools to rival market leader ChatGPT.

As pointed out by Cointelegraph, chat-based large language models can have major applications in blockchain, such as auditing smart contract codes or recommending crypto trading tricks for maximum profits.