"Forget worries about Samsung and SK hynix" Lee Jae-yong and Choi Tae-won capture attention with flawless synchronized dance

Girl-Group Dance Challenge Featuring Composite Celebrity Faces Takes Off
Sophisticated AI Videos Made From Just a Few Photos
Composite Videos Featuring Musk, Altman and Others Emerge
Concerns Over Portrait Rights Go Beyond Fun Parodies

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won appear side by side, dancing to a girl group's song. They perform difficult choreography with ease and even flash bright smiles at the camera. Their appearance is completely different from the serious demeanor they usually show in the corporate world. At first glance, the video looks like natural footage of a real performance, but it is a synthetic video created using artificial intelligence (AI).

AI-generated dance videos featuring the faces of famous business leaders and TV personalities are spreading across social media. Videos featuring Chairman Lee Jaeyong and Chairman Choi Taewon, in particular, have drawn attention for revealing an unexpected playful side of the business tycoons. X account profit_LX

Recently, videos known as "AI synchronized dance" clips, featuring composites of celebrities' faces, have become a huge hit, particularly on social media. From leaders of major South Korean business groups to entertainers and well-known producers, people from all walks of life are being transformed into girl-group dancers with AI, captivating online viewers. At the center of the buzz is "NEON," the debut song by rookie girl group A2O LITE, produced by former SM Entertainment executive producer Lee Soo-man. The song began trending online alongside wordplay based on the opening lyrics, "Neon and Beyond," which some Korean listeners say sound like phrases meaning "unmarried and choosing not to marry" or "divorced and choosing not to marry." The choreography, in which two members perform sharp, precise moves, was then used as the basis for AI-generated composite videos, helping the trend take hold as a new meme, or piece of viral online content.

Videos featuring composites of Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Chairman Choi Tae-won, in particular, have attracted attention for showing an unexpected side of the business leaders. The creator who posted one of the videos on social media wrote, "If you think Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are finished, take a look at this." The reference to the two companies, combined with footage of the chairmen dancing, amused online viewers. People who watched the video responded with comments such as, "It doesn't look synthetic at all," "At this point, it looks like they really danced," and "Please make a version featuring Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, too." Videos featuring entertainers have also drawn enormous interest.

Just a few years ago, producing sophisticated synthetic videos like these required professional video-editing skills, as well as considerable time and money. Today, however, videos that make it look as though a real person is dancing can be easily created using just one or two photos. X account: profit_LX

As of November 1, an AI video featuring producer Lee Soo-man, who produced A2O LITE, and producer Yoo Young-jin appearing side by side had recorded 9.653 million views on Instagram. A video featuring TV personalities Jung Jun-ha and Park Myung-soo had also surpassed 3.476 million views as of the same day. Other composite videos have appeared in quick succession, featuring actress Na Moon-hee, the late actor Lee Soon-jae, HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, and former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin.

The Pros and Cons of an Era When Anyone Can Create Videos

The trend is not limited to famous people in South Korea. AI video-generation technology can portray globally renowned tech executives such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman performing girl-group choreography. Since Musk and Altman are leading figures in the global AI industry, synthetic videos featuring their faces can serve as a striking illustration of advances in generative AI and the resulting concerns over portrait rights.

Just a few years ago, creating such sophisticated synthetic videos required professional video-editing skills, as well as considerable time and money. Today, however, it's easy to create videos that make real people appear to dance using just one or two photos. Some AI video-generation services, for example, can produce videos around 15 seconds long recreating A2O LITE's "NEON" choreography simply by having users upload a person's photo. The AI analyzes and composites the movements from the original video, without requiring a separate shoot or complex editing.

Some say that the ability for anyone to easily create videos featuring celebrities is giving rise to a new form of online entertainment. However, others warn that the technology's development is not something to celebrate without reservation. It can be used to portray people doing things they never actually did, without their consent. Even videos made for fun could damage someone's reputation or be exploited for commercial purposes. Composite videos featuring people who have died have also drawn criticism, with some questioning whether it is appropriate to make fun of the deceased. Ordinary people are not exempt, either. Concerns about protecting personal information and portrait rights are growing, as photos posted on social media alone can be used to create synthetic videos against a person's wishes.

The government is also taking action. On October 14, the Ministry of Intellectual Property said it would pursue a plan to explicitly include "digital replicas" of celebrities' appearances and voices created with AI among the targets of enforcement for violations of personality rights, including rights of publicity, under the Unfair Competition Prevention Act. It also plans to strengthen legal sanctions, including by establishing a basis for criminal penalties for the unauthorized use of celebrities' likenesses and voices.

Under current law, the unauthorized commercial use of a celebrity's name, face, or voice can be subject to sanctions if certain requirements are met. However, legal judgments on noncommercial parodies with no clear commercial purpose or on simple composite videos may vary depending on the circumstances. As amusing AI-generated dance videos become a new part of online culture, public debate is also gathering momentum over how far individual rights should be protected, beyond considerations of entertainment and freedom of expression.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.