After widely rolling out camera and screen sharing to Android and iOS last week, Google is adding real-time captions to Gemini Live. more…

Walmart just launched its latest Google TV device, the Onn 4K Plus, but appears to be keeping the devices it launched back in 2023 for a little while longer as a new branding refresh arrives. more…

Check out the new features in the 3D modeling and animation software, including AI animation and modular character rigging in Bifrost.

Check out the new features in the 3D modeling and animation software, including AI animation and modular character rigging in Bifrost.

Check out the new features in the 3D modeling and animation software, including AI animation and modular character rigging in Bifrost.

Houdini, Maya & Nuke Workflow with Josh HarrisonExplore the entire process of creating electricity and lightning visual effects using Houdini. Using a generalist approach, each chapter focuses on the essential stages of a complete, professional VFX workflow using Maya and Nuke in addition to Houdini. Artists will learn, step by step, how to integrate a custom character animation into a robust Houdini effects setup, covering everything from project organization to final-frame rendering.Beginning with asset prep and animation, Josh first covers how to prepare character models and animation for procedural import into Houdini. The first chapters also offer simple workarounds for rigging in Maya to provide more agency and flexibility to independent artist creators.Transitioning into Houdini, Josh then demonstrates how to set up materials and shaders in Mantra, Houdini's native render engine, to develop the scene further. From there, the workshop focuses primarily on generating lightning effects. After analyzing in-depth the fundamental concepts and approaches to creating electricity, Josh slowly explores more advanced techniques, instructing on how to make both secondary and tertiary elements, in order to add detail and complexity to a scene. He also discusses how to utilize particle and pyro simulations in order to generate dynamic electricity movement. After finalizing and finessing all the lightning elements, the final chapters guide artists in how to convert meshes into renderable light geometry, how to create custom AOVs in Mantra, and then how to use those render passes to create a professional composition in Nuke. Josh’s Anim.character.001.abc file is included as a downloadable project file with this workshop. The Mike Freeman rig by CG Truong and the Spartan Hoplite model by Ryan Reos are also featured in Josh’s workflow.WATCH NOW

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" The MetaHuman client reel. Epic Games’ framework for generating realistic 3D characters for games is out of early access, and can now be used with any DCC app or game engine. Epic Games has officially launched MetaHuman, its framework for generating realistic 3D characters for games, animation and VFX work, after four years in early access.The core applications, MetaHuman Creator, Mesh to MetaHuman and MetaHuman Animator, are now integrated into Unreal Engine 5.6, the latest version of the game engine. In addition, Epic has updated the licensing for MetaHuman characters, making it possible to use them in any game engine or DCC application, including in commercial projects. There are also two new free plugins, MetaHuman for Maya and MetaHuman for Houdini, intended to streamline the process of editing MetaHumans in Maya and Houdini. A suite of tools for generating and animating realistic real-time 3D characters First launched in early access in 2021, MetaHuman is a framework of tools for generating realistic 3D characters for next-gen games, animation, virtual production and VFX.The first component, MetaHuman Creator, enables users to design realistic digital humans. Users can generate new characters by blending between presets, then adjusting the proportions of the face by hand, and customising readymade hairstyles and clothing. The second component, Mesh to MetaHuman, makes it possible to create MetaHumans matching 3D scans or facial models created in other DCC apps. The final component, MetaHuman Animator, streamlines the process of transferring the facial performance of an actor from video footage to a MetaHuman character. MetaHuman Creator was originally a cloud-based tool, while Mesh to MetaHuman and MetaHuman Animator were available via the old MetaHuman plugin for Unreal Engine. Now integrated directly into Unreal Engine 5.6 That changes with the end of early access, with MetaHuman Creator, Mesh to MetaHuman and MetaHuman Animator all now integrated directly into Unreal Engine itself.Integration – available in Unreal Engine 5.6, the latest version of the engine – is intended to simplify character creation and asset management worklows. Studios also get access to the MetaHuman source code, since Unreal Engine itself comes with full C++ source code access. However, the tools still cannot be run entirely locally: according to Epic, in-editor workflow is “enhanced by cloud services that deliver autorigging and texture synthesis”. https://www.cgchannel.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/250604_MetaHumanOfficialLaunch_LicensingChanges_UnifiedClothing.mp4 Users can now adjust MetaHumans’ bodies, with a new unified Outfit Asset making it possible to create 3D clothing that adjusts automatically to bodily proportions. Updates to both MetaHuman Creator and MetaHuman Animator In addition, the official release introduces new features, with MetaHuman Creator’s parametric system for creating faces now extended to body shapes.Users can now adjust proportions like height, chest and waist measurements, and leg length, rather than simply selecting preset body types. Similarly, a new unified Outfit Asset makes it possible to author custom 3D clothing, rather than selecting readymade presets, with garments resizing to characters’ body shapes. MetaHuman Animator – which previously required footage from stereo head-mounted cameras or iPhones – now supports footage from mono cameras like webcams. The toolset can also now generate facial animation – both lip sync and head movement – solely from audio recordings, as well as from video footage. You can find fuller descriptions of the new features in Epic Games’ blog post. Use MetaHumans in Unity or Godot games, or sell them on online marketplaces Equally significantly, Epic has changed the licensing for MetaHumans.The MetaHuman toolset is now covered by the standard Unreal Engine EULA, meaning that it can be used for free by any artist or studio with under $1 million/year in revenue. MetaHuman characters and clothing can also now be sold on online marketplaces, or used in commercial projects created with other DCC apps or game engines. The only exception is for AI: you can use MetaHumans in “workflows that incorporate artificial intelligence technology”, but not to train or enhance the AI models themselves. Studios earning more than $1 million/year from projects that use MetaHuman characters need Unreal Engine seat licenses, with currently cost $1,850/year. However, since MetaHuman characters and animations are classed as ‘non-engine products’, they can be used in games created in other engines, like Unity or Godot, without incurring the 5% cut of the revenue that Epic takes from Unreal Engine games. https://www.cgchannel.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/250604_MetaHumanOfficialLaunch_LicensingChanges_MetaHumanForMaya.mp4 The free MetaHuman for Maya plugin lets you edit MetaHumans with Maya’s native tools. New plugins streamline editing MetaHumans in Maya and Houdini Last but not least, Epic Games has released new free add-ons intended to streamline the process of editing MetaHumans in other DCC software.The MetaHuman for Maya plugin makes it possible to manipulate the MetaHuman mesh directly with Maya’s standard mesh-editing and sculpting tools. Users can also create MetaHuman-compatible hair grooms using Maya’s XGen toolset, and export them in Alembic format. The MetaHuman for Houdini plugin seems to be confined to grooming, with users able to create hairstyles using Houdini’s native tools, and export them in Alembic format. The plugins themselves are supplemented by MetaHuman Groom Starter Kits for Maya and Houdini, which provide readymade sample files for generating grooms. Price, licensing and system requirements MetaHuman Creator and MetaHuman Animator are integrated into Unreal Engine 5.6. The Unreal Editor is compatible with Windows 10+, macOS 14.0+ and RHEL/Rocky Linux 8+.The MetaHuman plugin for Maya is compatible with Maya 2022-2025. The MetaHuman for Houdini plugin is compatible with Houdini 20.5 with SideFX Labs installed. All of the software is free to use, including for commercial projects, if you earn under $1 million/year. You can find more information on licensing in the story above. Read an overview of the changes to the MetaHuman software on Epic Games’ blog Download the free MetaHuman for Maya and Houdini plugins and starter kits Read Epic Games’ FAQs about the changes to licensing for MetaHumans Have your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we don’t post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.

Director Danny Boyle dishes on how the Infected have evolved for '28 Years Later,' and making them more terrifying.

How Deepfakes Are Created Generative AI models enable the creation of highly realistic fake media. Most deepfakes today are produced by training deep neural networks on real images, video or audio of a target person. The two predominant AI architectures are generative adversarial networks (GANs) and autoencoders. A GAN consists of a generator network that produces synthetic images and a discriminator network that tries to distinguish fakes from real data. Through iterative training, the generator learns to produce outputs that increasingly fool the discriminator¹. Autoencoder-based tools similarly learn to encode a target face and then decode it onto a source video. In practice, deepfake creators use accessible software: open-source tools like DeepFaceLab and FaceSwap dominate video face-swapping (one estimate suggests DeepFaceLab was used for over 95% of known deepfake videos)². Voice-cloning tools (often built on similar AI principles) can mimic a person’s speech from minutes of audio. Commercial platforms like Synthesia allow text-to-video avatars (turning typed scripts into lifelike “spokespeople”), which have already been misused in disinformation campaigns³. Even mobile apps (e.g. FaceApp, Zao) let users do basic face swaps in minutes⁴. In short, advances in GANs and related models make deepfakes cheaper and easier to generate than ever. Diagram of a generative adversarial network (GAN): A generator network creates fake images from random input and a discriminator network distinguishes fakes from real examples. Over time the generator improves until its outputs “fool” the discriminator⁵ During creation, a deepfake algorithm is typically trained on a large dataset of real images or audio from the target. The more varied and high-quality the training data, the more realistic the deepfake. The output often then undergoes post-processing (color adjustments, lip-syncing refinements) to enhance believability¹. Technical defenses focus on two fronts: detection and authentication. Detection uses AI models to spot inconsistencies (blinking irregularities, audio artifacts or metadata mismatches) that betray a synthetic origin⁵. Authentication embeds markers before dissemination – for example, invisible watermarks or cryptographically signed metadata indicating authenticity⁶. The EU AI Act will soon mandate that major AI content providers embed machine-readable “watermark” signals in synthetic media⁷. However, as GAO notes, detection is an arms race – even a marked deepfake can sometimes evade notice – and labels alone don’t stop false narratives from spreading⁸⁹. Deepfakes in Recent Elections: Examples Deepfakes and AI-generated imagery already have made headlines in election cycles around the world. In the 2024 U.S. primary season, a digitally-altered audio robocall mimicked President Biden’s voice urging Democrats not to vote in the New Hampshire primary. The caller (“Susan Anderson”) was later fined $6 million by the FCC and indicted under existing telemarketing laws¹⁰¹¹. (Importantly, FCC rules on robocalls applied regardless of AI: the perpetrator could have used a voice actor or recording instead.) Also in 2024, former President Trump posted on social media a collage implying that pop singer Taylor Swift endorsed his campaign, using AI-generated images of Swift in “Swifties for Trump” shirts¹². The posts sparked media uproar, though analysts noted the same effect could have been achieved without AI (e.g., by photoshopping text on real images)¹². Similarly, Elon Musk’s X platform carried AI-generated clips, including a parody “Ad” depicting Vice-President Harris’s voice via an AI clone¹³. Beyond the U.S., deepfake-like content has appeared globally. In Indonesia’s 2024 presidential election, a video surfaced on social media in which a convincingly generated image of the late President Suharto appeared to endorse the candidate of the Golkar Party. Days later, the endorsed candidate (who is Suharto’s son-in-law) won the presidency¹⁴. In Bangladesh, a viral deepfake video superimposed the face of opposition leader Rumeen Farhana onto a bikini-clad body – an incendiary fabrication designed to discredit her in the conservative Muslim-majority society¹⁵. Moldova’s pro-Western President Maia Sandu has been repeatedly targeted by AI-driven disinformation; one deepfake video falsely showed her resigning and endorsing a Russian-friendly party, apparently to sow distrust in the electoral process¹⁶. Even in Taiwan (amidst tensions with China), a TikTok clip circulated that synthetically portrayed a U.S. politician making foreign-policy statements – stoking confusion ahead of Taiwanese elections¹⁷. In Slovakia’s recent campaign, AI-generated audio mimicking the liberal party leader suggested he plotted vote-rigging and beer-price hikes – instantly spreading on social media just days before the election¹⁸. These examples show that deepfakes have touched diverse polities (from Bangladesh and Indonesia to Moldova, Slovakia, India and beyond), often aiming to undermine candidates or confuse voters¹⁵¹⁸. Notably, many of the most viral “deepfakes” in 2024 were actually circulated as obvious memes or claims, rather than subtle deceptions. Experts observed that outright undetectable AI deepfakes were relatively rare; more common were AI-generated memes plainly shared by partisans, or cheaply doctored “cheapfakes” made with basic editing tools¹³¹⁹. For instance, social media was awash with memes of Kamala Harris in Soviet garb or of Black Americans holding Trump signs¹³, but these were typically used satirically, not meant to be secretly believed. Nonetheless, even unsophisticated fakes can sway opinion: a U.S. study found that false presidential ads (not necessarily AI-made) did change voter attitudes in swing states. In sum, deepfakes are a real and growing phenomenon in election campaigns²⁰²¹ worldwide – a trend taken seriously by voters and regulators alike. U.S. Legal Framework and Accountability In the U.S., deepfake creators and distributors of election misinformation face a patchwork of tools, but no single comprehensive federal “deepfake law.” Existing laws relevant to disinformation include statutes against impersonating government officials, electioneering (such as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, which requires disclaimers on political ads), and targeted statutes like criminal electioneering communications. In some cases ordinary laws have been stretched: the NH robocall used the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and mail/telemarketing fraud provisions, resulting in the $6M fine and a criminal charge. Similarly, voice impostors can potentially violate laws against “false advertising” or “unlawful corporate communications.” However, these laws were enacted before AI, and litigators have warned they often do not fit neatly. For example, deceptive deepfake claims not tied to a specific victim do not easily fit into defamation or privacy torts. Voter intimidation laws (prohibiting threats or coercion) also leave a gap for non-threatening falsehoods about voting logistics or endorsements. Recognizing these gaps, some courts and agencies are invoking other theories. The U.S. Department of Justice has recently charged individuals under broad fraud statutes (e.g. for a plot to impersonate an aide to swing votes in 2020), and state attorneys general have considered deepfake misinformation as interference with voting rights. Notably, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) is preparing to enforce new rules: in April 2024 it issued an advisory opinion limiting “non-candidate electioneering communications” that use falsified media, effectively requiring that political ads use only real images of the candidate. If finalized, that would make it unlawful for campaigns to pay for ads depicting a candidate saying things they never did. Similarly, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) have signaled that purely commercial deepfakes could violate consumer protection or election laws (for example, liability for mass false impersonation or for foreign-funded electioneering). U.S. Legislation and Proposals Federal lawmakers have proposed new statutes. The DEEPFAKES Accountability Act (H.R.5586 in the 118th Congress) would, among other things, impose a disclosure requirement: political ads featuring a manipulated media likeness would need clear disclaimers identifying the content as synthetic. It also increases penalties for producing false election videos or audio intended to influence the vote. While not yet enacted, supporters argue it would provide a uniform rule for all federal and state campaigns. The Brennan Center supports transparency requirements over outright bans, suggesting laws should narrowly target deceptive deepfakes in paid ads or certain categories (e.g. false claims about time/place/manner of voting) while carving out parody and news coverage. At the state level, over 20 states have passed deepfake laws specifically for elections. For example, Florida and California forbid distributing falsified audio/visual media of candidates with intent to deceive voters (though Florida’s law exempts parody). Some states (like Texas) define “deepfake” in statutes and allow candidates to sue or revoke candidacies of violators. These measures have had mixed success: courts have struck down overly broad provisions that acted as prior restraints (e.g. Minnesota’s 2023 law was challenged for threatening injunctions against anyone “reasonably believed” to violate it). Critically, these state laws raise First Amendment issues: political speech is highly protected, so any restriction must be tightly tailored. Already, Texas and Virginia statutes are under legal review, and Elon Musk’s company has sued under California’s law (which requires platforms to label or block deepfakes) as unconstitutional. In practice, most lawsuits have so far centered on defamation or intellectual property (for instance, a celebrity suing over a botched celebrity-deepfake video), rather than election-focused statutes. Policy Recommendations: Balancing Integrity and Speech Given the rapidly evolving technology, experts recommend a multi-pronged approach. Most stress transparency and disclosure as core principles. For example, the Brennan Center urges requiring any political communication that uses AI-synthesized images or voice to include a clear label. This could be a digital watermark or a visible disclaimer. Transparency has two advantages: it forces campaigns and platforms to “own” the use of AI, and it alerts audiences to treat the content with skepticism. Outright bans on all deepfakes would likely violate free speech, but targeted bans on specific harms (e.g. automated phone calls impersonating voters, or videos claiming false polling information) may be defensible. Indeed, Florida already penalizes misuse of recordings in voter suppression. Another recommendation is limited liability: tying penalties to demonstrable intent to mislead, not to the mere act of content creation. Both U.S. federal proposals and EU law generally condition fines on the “appearance of fraud” or deception. Technical solutions can complement laws. Watermarking original media (as encouraged by the EU AI Act) could deter the reuse of authentic images in doctored fakes. Open tools for deepfake detection – some supported by government research grants – should be deployed by fact-checkers and social platforms. Making detection datasets publicly available (e.g. the MIT OpenDATATEST) helps improve AI models to spot fakes. International cooperation is also urged: cross-border agreements on information-sharing could help trace and halt disinformation campaigns. The G7 and APEC have all recently committed to fighting election interference via AI, which may lead to joint norms or rapid response teams. Ultimately, many analysts believe the strongest “cure” is a well-informed public: education campaigns to teach voters to question sensational media, and a robust independent press to debunk falsehoods swiftly. While the law can penalize the worst offenders, awareness and resilience in the electorate are crucial buffers against influence operations. As Georgia Tech’s Sean Parker quipped in 2019, “the real question is not if deepfakes will influence elections, but who will be empowered by the first effective one.” Thus policies should aim to deter malicious use without unduly chilling innovation or satire. References: https://www.security.org/resources/deepfake-statistics/. https://www.wired.com/story/synthesia-ai-deepfakes-it-control-riparbelli/. https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-107292. https://technologyquotient.freshfields.com/post/102jb19/eu-ai-act-unpacked-8-new-rules-on-deepfakes. https://knightcolumbia.org/blog/we-looked-at-78-election-deepfakes-political-misinformation-is-not-an-ai-problem. https://www.npr.org/2024/12/21/nx-s1-5220301/deepfakes-memes-artificial-intelligence-elections. https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-elections-disinformation-chatgpt-bc283e7426402f0b4baa7df280a4c3fd. https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/new-and-old-tools-to-tackle-deepfakes-and-election-lies-in-2024. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/regulating-ai-deepfakes-and-synthetic-media-political-arena. https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/political-deepfakes-and-elections/. https://www.ncsl.org/technology-and-communication/deceptive-audio-or-visual-media-deepfakes-2024-legislation. https://law.unh.edu/sites/default/files/media/2022/06/nagumotu_pp113-157.pdf. https://dfrlab.org/2024/10/02/brazil-election-ai-research/. https://dfrlab.org/2024/11/26/brazil-election-ai-deepfakes/. https://freedomhouse.org/article/eu-digital-services-act-win-transparency. The post The Legal Accountability of AI-Generated Deepfakes in Election Misinformation appeared first on MarkTechPost.