Mayor of London backed tech start-up used to make ‘deep fakes’ – Telegraph.co.uk

Sadiq Khan highlighted the focus on minority entrepreneurs when the scheme was launched.We have policies in place to ensure this fund supports women-led business and entrepreneurs from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, he said.

The company, which claims its technology is being developed for commercial use in the film and TV industry - for example in dubbing films into different languages, was founded by a German national, Matthias Niessner and two Danish citizens - Victor Riparbelli and Steffen Tjerrild.

The only woman linked to the company, Professor Lourdes Agapito, from University College Londons computer science department, stepped down as a director just weeks after the funding was received last April.

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: The Greater London Investment Fund (GLIF) is investing 100 million into 170 innovative small and medium-sized enterprises across London, creating 3,500 jobs.

Synthesia has put in place strict ethical guidelines around the use of its software, as well as robust safeguards to ensure it is only used in legitimate ways by its clients and with the explicit consent of those featured in the videos.

Synthesias founder Victor Riparbelli said: We have never, and will never, create synthetic videos of anyone without their consent.

But Synthesia's founders have repeatedly used manipulated video of politicians including Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and George Bush to demonstrate the technologys effectiveness and the ability to produce convincing doctored videos.

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Mayor of London backed tech start-up used to make 'deep fakes' - Telegraph.co.uk