'Deepfakes' UCC study highlights risk of 'false memory' created by online technology 

Screenshots of the four deepfake clips used in the study, clockwise from top left: Brad Pitt in a remake of The Shining, Will Smith in a remake of The Matrix, Chris Pratt in a remake of Indiana Jones, Charlize Theron in a remake of Captain Marvel.

Remember Will Smith's brilliant performance in that remake of The Matrix? Well, it turns out almost half the participants in a new study on 'deep fakes' believed fake remakes featuring different actors in old roles were real, highlighting the risk of 'false memory' created by online technology.

The study, carried out by researchers at the School of Applied Psychology in University College Cork, presented 436 people with deepfake video of fictitious movie remakes.

Deepfakes are manipulated media created using artificial intelligence technologies, where an artificial face has been superimposed onto another person’s face, resulting in a highly convincing recording of someone doing or saying something they never did.

Participants completed an online survey where they were presented with real and fake film remakes: The Shining, The Matrix, Indiana Jones, and Captain Marvel. The text descriptions were:

•  “In 2012, Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie starred in a remake of The Shining. The real-life couple played Jack & Wendy Torrance in the Stephen King horror film”; 
• “In 2008, Will Smith starred in a remake of The Matrix. Smith played Neo in the film about a dystopian future in which citizens are trapped inside a simulation”; 
• “In 2013, Chris Pratt starred in a remake of Indiana Jones. Pratt played the titular archaeologist Jones, who journeys to seize the Ark of the Covenant”; and 
• “In 2020, Charlize Theron starred in a remake of Captain Marvel. Theron played the leading role in the Marvel Comics film.” 

The four real film remakes presented in the study were Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Total Recall, Carrie, and Tomb Raider.

"Participants readily formed false memories for these fictitious movies," it said. " Captain Marvel was most frequently falsely recalled (73%), followed by Indiana Jones (43%), The Matrix (42%), and The Shining (40%). 

Of those who falsely remembered each film, 41% remembered the Captain Marvel remake was better than the original, 13% remembered the  Indiana Jones remake was better than the original, 12% remembered The Matrix remake was better than the original, and 9% remembered The Shining remake was better than the original."

According to the UCC study, there was an average false memory rate of 49%, with many participants remembering the fake remake as better than the original film.

Lead researcher and author Dr Gillian Murphy of the School of Applied Psychology at UCC, said while the study examined film remakes, it also highlighted the power of deepfakes — not just to create false memories, but also to undermine real events when others then falsely claim they are fake.

Cybersecurity company Deeptrace found in 2019 that 96% of all deepfake videos on the internet were of a pornographic nature, almost all on a nonconsensual basis, and often using celebrities whose faces were superimposed. 

But Dr Murphy said the "democratisation" of deepfakes meant the risk of such clips being made was likely to become more widespread, with advancing technology meaning it could become easier to create a fake clip with a limited number of photographs of a real person.

The research was funded by LERO | Science Foundation Ireland.