Tencent Cloud, a subsidiary of the renowned Chinese tech titan Tencent, has unveiled an innovative digital humanoid creation platform. This state-of-the-art tool enables users to generate deepfakes using a three-minute video clip and 100 voice recordings. The tool leverages Tencent’s proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) prowess to fabricate artificial videos of individuals.

Deepfake videos have gained popularity amongst fraudsters, who use them to mislead investors by mimicking notable figures. A notable case from 2022 saw Tesla CEO Elon Musk cautioning about the surge of deepfakes that were impersonating him to endorse cryptocurrency frauds.

As per a report from Chinese news agency Jiemian, Tencent Cloud’s advanced service can examine and educate itself on three-minute videos and 100 voice snippets to create an authentic deepfake video within a day. The cost of this deepfake generation service is approximately 1,000 yuan, equivalent to $145.

Deepfake version (left) created by Tencent Cloud’s AI service. Source: Tencent (via Jiemian)

The Register, a prominent news outlet, verified the development with Tencent, underscoring that the service can fabricate deepfakes in both English and Chinese. The digital humanoid creation platform provides five distinct styles: 3D realistic, 3D semi-realistic, 3D cartoon, 2D real person, and 2D cartoon.

Tencent plans to leverage this service for live-streamed infomercials aimed at the Chinese market. According to Jiemian’s report, other potential uses for deepfakes might include portraying professionals such as doctors, lawyers, among others.

Meanwhile, other Chinese tech juggernauts, including Huawei and Baidu, are venturing into the development of their unique generative AI tools to compete with market leader ChatGPT. Cointelegraph notes that chat-oriented large language models can significantly contribute to the blockchain industry by auditing smart contract codes or suggesting optimal crypto trading strategies.