Not too long ago, the internet was deciding how to feel over a group of dancing robots that danced a little too well. The AI's precision and grace made it easy for onlookers to leap to Terminator-style predictions about what a shuffling Boston Dynamics bot might be capable of doing if someone wanted them to kill people instead of a dance floor.

Today, Epic Games revealed the "MetaHuman Creator" and internet denizens can't help but feel a similar feeling of simultaneous intrigue and worry.

"I can’t tell if this is cool or creepy... probably a mix of both...

"Gamers have always wanted to make their create-a-character look as real as possible... now here it is."

It's crazy how good this is because it really isn't creepy or uncanny at all. It actually looks 'real.

"...and in wrong hands, a weapon."

The upsides are clear: consumers like higher graphic fidelity and MetaHuman Creator's increased accessibility via its browser-based app further democratizes the ability for people to express themselves.  No one can deny the artistic and technological achievement that is Metahuman Creator, especially considering the incredible speed in which these technologies have advanced over the decade.

But aren't we also in the middle of an unprecedented disinformation crisis? Hasn't the rise of catfishing, deep fakes, and bots on social media created an entire industry around manipulating innocent internet users? The meme that humanity is headed towards a Cyberpunk 2077 is all in fun, but its plausibility inches forward every time technology starts resembling magic.

MetaHuman Creator is a tool that will be used to create amazing experiences and narratives.  As a tool, it can also be used in any manner of ways, the chief concern being the goal of deception. Whether it's macro-level propaganda targetting nations or micro-level scammers targetting individuals, the only limit to what this technology is capable of is one's imagination,