Screenshots of the original character and the superimposed one in the clip

A classic Chinese drama clip whose heroin’s face was changed with that of another actress has gone viral, stirring a heated debate on AI-based image synthesis technology and the possible backlash it may face in the film industry.

The changed actress’ face acts naturally in the clip, making it appear as if the performance was done by a different actress. The video was uploaded to Bilibili, a popular Chinese video sharing website.

On Weibo, a popular Chinese social media platform, discussions regarding the video have attracted over 120 million views and more than 12,000 comments. Many people, though amused by the trick, saw it as a form of disrespect to the original actress, while others said that it violated her personality rights and maybe even invaded her privacy.

“I meant no malicious will against any actresses and I never expected that the clip would create such a heated discussion on social media. It was simply for technical exchange, not money,” the clip’s producer, surnamed Xiao, told The Beijing News.

Xiao’s videos were inaccessible in Bilibili by press time. He posted an apology on his homepage for making the morphed videos, adding that he wants more people to be aware about how AI can change things such as faces before the technology brings more damage to public figures, should it be used for negative reasons.

Though this was not the first time that such face-changing tricks have occurred in Chinese audiences’ sight, it is not a novel technique that comes out of nowhere.

Deepfake, an AI deep learning technology, has long aroused international attention and criticism. In one instance, it was used to superimpose Gal Gadot’s face onto a porn film character, which created malicious hoaxes toward her acting career. The technology has also been used to misrepresent politicians, including Donald Trump, on some video websites.

Major overseas social media sites such as Twitter have said that they will delete Deepfake content and block the publishers.