Nvidia has found a new use for deepfake technology – faking eye contact

Aspiring YouTube, Twitch or Discord stars who can’t speak coherently on camera without reading from a sheet or monitor are getting an unexpected boost from Nvidia.

Added to the Nvidia Broadcast 1.4 suite, the Eye Contact feature will turn you with a simple tick in the app’s settings into a persuasive influencer, able to argue your ideas in however long sentences without breaking eye contact with your followers. And for creators interested in delivering as much content as possible in a short time, simulating eye contact could reduce the need to memorise prepared speeches.

According to the description provided on Nvidia’s blog, the new feature comes to help “content creators who want to record themselves reading from notes or script sheet” without having to look directly at the camera. Billed as an aid to stage presence rather than a way to cheat, this is probably the most innocuous use of deepfake technology. As for the credibility of the effect achieved, apparently the illusion can be maintained as long as the body movements do not contradict the direction of the simulated gaze too much. For example, turning the head and leaning over the note sheet can produce unpredictable results, with the gaze ending up twitching or mimicking unnatural movements. Other problems can occur when wearing glasses, as the software has some issues with eye overlap over the frame of the glasses and lens reflections.

For now, Nvidia is offering the Eye Contact feature in beta testing, suggesting there’s still plenty of room for further optimization. What is certain is that Apple also offers a similar feature in the FaceTime app, called “Attention Correction”.