China man uses deepfake technology to disguise himself as late father in videos to save frail grandmother from heartbreak
So they told her that her son was receiving treatment at a prestigious hospital in Beijing, and must stay there because of his condition.
Sun said he had to use AI technology to “resurrect” his father after his grandmother kept asking to see him.
He told her his father was not allowed to bring his mobile phone into the hospital, and pretended he had travelled to Beijing to record a video of him for her.
Using old photographs and face-swap software, the grandson placed his father’s face onto his own, and imitated his voice.
“Mum, I’m fine in Beijing. They cannot cure this annoying disease, but it is under control,” he says in the video.
He sent the video to his aunt first to test its quality before showing it to his grandmother.
Sun said the old woman, who has bad eyesight but an optimistic approach to life, believed it was her son in the video.
Sun said making the video meant sorting through his father’s photos, which he had been avoiding since his death.
When he got ill, Sun took him to dozens of hospitals across China and abroad, and even went to temples to pray to deities.
He found it very difficult to accept his father’s death. So the disguise also became his way of saying goodbye.
A video of him telling the face-swap story, posted on his Douyin account @Zaixiasancai, received 5 million views.
“This is the best way to use deepfake technology,” one online observer said.
“The grandma might know what happened better than anyone, but she just needed some comfort,” said another.
“He was being the son of his grandma,” said a third.
It is not the first time people have lied about the death of a family member to protect the feelings of their loved ones.
Usually, it is children who hide it from their elderly parents who are not in good health.
In other cases, parents hide the death of important family members from children ahead of their university entrance exams, so it does not affect their performance.