China man uses deepfake technology to disguise himself as late father in videos to save frail grandmother from heartbreak
Family hides death of son from 91-year-old, tells her he is in hospital
Grandson creates AI videos, imitates father’s voice, eases own grief
Fran Lu
in Beijing
Published: 2:00pm, 20 Mar 2024
A caring grandson in China used artificial intelligence, or AI, deepfake technology in videos to disguise himself as his deceased father so he could comfort his frail grandmother who was unaware her son was dead.
The man, surnamed Sun, from the northeastern province of Liaoning, said his family had been hiding the truth from his grandmother after his father died from a rare cancer six months ago.
The 91-year-old woman has a serious heart problem and they were afraid the news might be too distressing for her.
So they told her that her son was receiving treatment at a prestigious hospital in Beijing, and must stay there because of his condition.
Sun said he had to use AI technology to “resurrect” his father after his grandmother kept asking to see him.
The dead man had been suffering from a rare form of cancer before he passed away. Photo: Douyin
He told her his father was not allowed to bring his mobile phone into the hospital, and pretended he had travelled to Beijing to record a video of him for her.
Using old photographs and face-swap software, the grandson placed his father’s face onto his own, and imitated his voice.
“Mum, I’m fine in Beijing. They cannot cure this annoying disease, but it is under control,” he says in the video.
He sent the video to his aunt first to test its quality before showing it to his grandmother.
Sun said the old woman, who has bad eyesight but an optimistic approach to life, believed it was her son in the video.
Sun said making the video meant sorting through his father’s photos, which he had been avoiding since his death.
When he got ill, Sun took him to dozens of hospitals across China and abroad, and even went to temples to pray to deities.
He found it very difficult to accept his father’s death. So the disguise also became his way of saying goodbye.
A video of him telling the face-swap story, posted on his Douyin account @Zaixiasancai, received 5 million views.
“This is the best way to use deepfake technology,” one online observer said.
“The grandma might know what happened better than anyone, but she just needed some comfort,” said another.
It is not uncommon for people in China to use AI technology to keep the death of a loved one from relatives. Photo: Shutterstock
“He was being the son of his grandma,” said a third.
It is not the first time people have lied about the death of a family member to protect the feelings of their loved ones.
Usually, it is children who hide it from their elderly parents who are not in good health.
In other cases, parents hide the death of important family members from children ahead of their university entrance exams, so it does not affect their performance.
Fran Lu
Fran has been a reporter since 2014, mainly covering social and cultural stories about China. She writes about lifestyle, social trends and youth culture.
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