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This decade will be the decade of deepfake advertising

Marketing is becoming more and more manipulative. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are used to create convincing, true-to-life synthetic replicas that are nearly impossible to spot.

Deepfake advertising is here.

"Preparing for an Era of Deepfakes and AI-Generated Ads: A Framework for Understanding Responses to Manipulated Advertising" published in the Journal of Advertising by Swinburne University of Technology reveals how companies and marketers are likely to use deepfakes.

Most synthetic content is user-generated, usually by technologists showcasing their AI prowess by training AI to swap faces or voices of very different actors or politicians. It's obvious that a lot of this stuff is fake. Instead of fooling, misguiding, or tricking audiences, the producers want to create humor and show off this new technology's potential.

Deepfakes will be indistinguishable from the real thing-including deepfakes of ourselves in advertising-but experts say it's better to steer clear of being too accurate or real.

Professor Colin Campbell, a digital innovation expert in marketing and advertising, said, "Imagine ads where you wear the clothes instead of the model.

"It's a concept that may be a little intimidating for some people. There's a lot of research proving that when consumers see people like them in ads, they're more likely to get something out of it. With the help of data collected from social media, retail sensors or loyalty programs, brands can create ads tailored to your exact ethnicity, height, clothes, and location near your home or workplace.

If these personalized ads don't cross over into hyper customer surveillance, they could increase sales and boost brands' reputations.

Professor Sean Sands, who studies retail and social media innovations, says deepfakes are likely to be used in mainstream media within 10 years.

It's gonna be hard to make 'authentically human' deepfakes, but there's also research that shows consumers can forgive obviously virtual influencers. In some businesses, they might try to let people know deepfakes are fakes so they'll be more forgiving."