The Colaboratory project, implemented by the Google Research team in 2017, enables anyone to write and run code in the Python software language over the browser. The platform, which is especially used for machine learning, training and data analysis, came to the fore today with a news showing Google’s reaction to deepfakes.
Google Colaboratory, which has become the home of artificial intelligence researchers in recent years, has so far signed a limit, although not very restrictive in its content. DeepFaceLab, the deepfake creator on the platform, has been banned. Anyone trying to use the tool has come across a warning from Google:
DeepFaceLab is banned on Google Colab:
“You may be executing unauthorized code and this may limit your ability to use Colab in the future. Please be mindful of the prohibited actions outlined in our FAQ.”
DeepFaceLab was one of the most popular tools preferred by those who wanted to produce deepfake content today. It was actually based on a change that sounded silent when Google removed this tool from Colab. Over the past two weeks, Google has quietly changed Colab’s terms of use, banning deepfake generators.
Although DeepFaceLab is still live on Github, its removal from Google Colab will cause a large vulnerability to appear. Google Colab was able to run Python codes directly from Google’s tools. In other words, the graphics power required for deepfake was provided free of charge by Google. However, with the removal of the vehicle from Colab, only those with a powerful graphics card will be able to operate the vehicle. Likewise, although it is thought that the tool was removed for ethical reasons, it is thought that areas such as artificial intelligence and education of students may also be adversely affected.
An example using DeepFaceLab: