Based on an A.I. insight:

With the current rise of AI and deepfake technology, abusing personal data has never been easier. Turning social media into a treasure trove of data which criminals can exploit in more ways than ever. 

Yet, 75% of parents still share their kids’ data on social media, unaware that they are exposing them to severe dangers like identity theft, scamming, harassment and even child pornography.

A.I. at the core of our creative idea:

Using the latest Al technology on a single photograph, we created the virtually aged version of a 9-year-old girl: Ella. In our film, she confronts her parents – and by extension parents worldwide – with the consequences of sharing kids’ data online, sending a gut-wrenching warning from the future. This way, our film became both a literal demonstration of AI manipulation capabilities and an emotional plea for the online safety of all children.

Execution Details: How did they utilize AI?

“Usually, deepfake technology requires a large data set of source videos and a complex face-mapping process. But, since we wanted to stress the harm that can be done with just a single picture, our challenge was to create a whole deepfake video from a single JPEG file: a photo of 9-year-old Ella, just like those that can easily be found on social media.

First, we fed that photo to an AI engine that created a realistic version of a grown-up Ella by ageing her facial features. Then, we trained a new machine-learning engine to recognize faces in moving images and replace it with Ella’s aged face. Finally, we recorded Ella’s message using a stand-in actress and replaced her face using our newly trained engine. The engine was able to replace the face and maintain all the original facial expressions and emotions. The result was Ella’s heartfelt testimonial, which we posted on social media, reaching parents on the same platforms where they expose their children’s data.”

– from adam&eveBerlin & DDB Germany teams