I found a face generator.  It can create fake face pictures according to general descriptions, such as age, gender, skin tone, and hair color. The images look very realistic, but they are not real. So, they are perfect for personas, avatars, or character introductions without causing infringement on portrait rights. 

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This product is recognized as synthetic media because algorithmic means create the images. The outputs represent the machine’s imagination of a face with specific features. And even the same settings generate different results. 

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How was this made? An idea is the machine studies a huge database of human faces to get the pattern of how a face image changes to the age, facial expressions, and angles. 

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Although the generated faces release the user from the risk of infringing on the right of portrait of others, they are not ethical ramifications free. There are millions of people in the world. The generator is highly possible to make a face that accidentally looks like someone. If this generated face is applied in a negative context, for example, on a fictional wanted poster, the unfortunate person who happens to look just like this picture would have to bear the blame for nothing. The situation could even be worse. Imagine if the person’s kid sees the fictional wanted poster and thinks it is true. The kid may no longer trust the parents and suffer from psychological trauma. Unbelievable, an algorithm has the potential to destroy family relationships. What is worse, if this situation happens, the unlucky family is unlikely to receive compensation, because the face on the wanted poster is not from the real face! It is just a random production of a machine! Can we blame a computer for creating an image that leads to a tragedy? Or can we blame the user who inputs the features and leads the computer to create this criminal image? If the answer is no, who should be responsible for this sad story?