MyHeritage is offering a new feature called Deep Nostalgia, so users can animate old photos of family. MyHeritage
MyHeritage is offering a new feature called Deep Nostalgia, so users can animate old photos of family. MyHeritage
MyHeritage is offering a new feature called Deep Nostalgia, so users can animate old photos of family. MyHeritage
MyHeritage is offering a new feature called Deep Nostalgia, so users can animate old photos of family. MyHeritage

'Deep Nostalgia': MyHeritage now allows you to animate old photos using deepfake technology

See old images come to life with this AI-enabled synthetic media

Katy Gillett
Katy Gillett

March 01, 2021

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  • Arabic

Soon the walls of your home could look more like the hallways of Hogwarts, thanks to genealogy service MyHeritage's new Deep Nostalgia feature.

The AI-enabled synthetic media tool allows users to upload a photo of a person and see that individual's face animated by an algorithm. Once-static images are now brought to life, as the heads move around, eyes blink and facial expressions change.

This is the magic of deepfakes and the pull of seeing past and present loved ones revived through imagery has seen a spike in social shares since the feature was revealed this week at a family history conference.

The National had a play with the tool and here are the results.

See Lebanese singer Fairuz, real name Nouhad Wadie' Haddad, in all her heyday glory:

Elvis Presley was all shook up:

We even animated a young Queen Elizabeth II:

Jazz great Louis Armstrong was brought back to this wonderful world:

My Fair Lady star Audrey Hepburn reprised her role as an on-screen legend:

And here's Marilyn Monroe reminding us all of her famous quote: "Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."

While it is an impressive feature, which is powered by Israeli company D-ID, best known for creating technology to digitally de-identify faces, concerns have been expressed surrounding MyHeritage's agenda. The company's core business is to sell DNA tests, after all.

It's free to animate your photos using this tool, but you have to give over some data – at least an email – and agree to its terms and conditions, and privacy policy, in order to do so. Its policies, however, have stirred up controversies over the years, reports TechCrunch.

For example, in 2020, the Norwegian Consumer Council reported MyHeritage to the national consumer and data protection authorities as it believed the firm was taking "unlawfully excessive liberties with people's sensitive data".

In 2018, MyHeritage reported more than 92 million user accounts were exposed in a data breach and, later, data from that breach was reportedly found for sale on the dark web.

So, while it is undoubtedly a cool tool, anyone concerned about handing over their data so easily to such a giant commercial entity may want to think twice before reanimating an old friend.

Zidane's managerial achievements

La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017

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Director: James Cameron

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Rating: 4.5/5

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Persepolis: Alipour (42'), Mensha (84')

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Gitex 2018
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About Karol Nawrocki

• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.

• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.

• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.

• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.

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Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net

Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.

Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.

A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.

Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.

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