Deep Reckonings
Deepfake it 'til we make it
The idea behind Faces of X is: integration of different perspectives.
What if we took that idea, and applied it to a radically different medium? Specifically, what if we applied perspective integration to deepfakes?
Introducing Deep Reckonings — a series of explicitly-marked deepfake videos that imagine morally courageous versions of our public figures, like Mark Zuckerberg and Brett Kavanaugh. I released the series in 2020, but with the recent virality of my friend Ari Kuschnir's Transmutation of Donald Trump, I thought Deep Reckonings might be due for a re-release.
Why would people interested in Faces of X be interested in deepfakes that parody public figures?! Excellent question.
First of all, it's worth challenging our assumptions about deepfakes. Under what circumstances (if any) can deepfakes be used ethically? I believe such circumstances exist — and include when the deepfakery is made explicit, and the people being deepfaked are public figures. You can find more on the ethics of deepfakes here.
Second, this is not parody, but perhaps more like tough love. I don't make Zuckerberg and Kavanaugh look like idiots — quite on the contrary. The overarching question of Deep Reckonings is: how might we use our synthetic selves to elicit our better angels? Or more simply:
How might we deepfake it 'til we make it?
Applying the Faces of X lens: what's the most unifying thing Zuckerberg or Kavanaugh could say, that would integrate different perspectives and appeal to the largest ideological diversity of people? Let me know if you think I managed to achieve that.
First up, Brett Kavanaugh:
Next up, Mark Zuckerberg:
And finally, Alex Jones:
Learn more about the philosophy, ethics, and making of Deep Reckonings here.