A new AI tool called Griffin can stand in for your face on a video call and pass as a real human being.
Griffin creates a photorealistic avatar, complete with synced voice and real-time expressions, that takes over your video feed during a call. It is not a cartoon skin or an obvious filter; it is built to be mistaken for an actual person. The tool has drawn immediate pushback from critics who say it is tailor-made for scams and impersonation, not entertainment. Some are calling for it to be banned before it spreads further.
That matters because video calls are one of the last places people still trust a face as proof of identity, whether in a job interview, a customer service chat, or a quick check-in with family. Earlier attempts at digital avatars still looked synthetic enough to spot; Griffin's selling point is that it does not. Once a fake face clears that bar, the burden shifts onto platforms and policy to catch what a glance no longer can.
Calling for a ban is easy; building the verification tools to actually enforce one is the harder, less quotable part of this story.