Former Machine Zone CEO launches BeFake to turn selfies into AI fantasies

Remember when BeReal convinced everyone that raw, unfiltered snapshots of dirty laundry and unwashed hair were the future of social media? It was novel for a minute, until everyone realized that real life is, well, pretty mundane most of the time.

Now, a veteran mobile gaming executive is launching an app with the exact opposite pitch. Alias Technologies just dropped BeFake, an AI-powered social platform built around a rather cheeky tagline: “Why be real when you can be fake?”

Turning boring candids into fantasy

The app is live now on both iOS and Android. Instead of forcing you to broadcast your messy bedroom, BeFake lets you snap a photo, punch in a text prompt, and let custom AI models transform reality into whatever wild concept you have in mind.

Alias Technologies founder Kristen Garcia Dumont knows a thing or two about digital engagement. She previously served as CEO of Machine Zone, steering mega-hits like Game of War and Mobile Strike past $1 billion in revenue before AppLovin snapped the company up for $600 million in 2020.

Alongside former Machine Zone COO Tracy Lane, Dumont spent the last two years quietly assembling a 12-person AI team to build their own computer vision and generative AI models from scratch.

Dumont argues that while the candid, anti-filter wave had good intentions, most people actually crave aspirational, creative expression online. Posting unedited reality is stressful; masking it in AI-generated fantasy makes sharing fun again while stealthily teaching users how to prompt.

In fact, Dumont is placing a much bigger long-term bet. She believes more than 50% of our online interactions will eventually be with bots and virtual personas, mirroring how players casually interact with gaming characters.

Why it matters

We think BeFake is a remarkably smart counter-punch to the fatigue plaguing platforms like BeReal. Consumers are exhausted by performative authenticity, but they also find professional AI generation tools too technical. By packaging prompt-based image generation into a casual, tap-and-send feed, BeFake turns your couch potato afternoons into shareable digital art with near-zero friction.

The real test, however, will be shelf life. Generative novelty apps historically hit viral spikes followed by steep drop-offs once the novelty of turning yourself into an astronaut or cyborg wears thin. Social networks survive on genuine human rapport and real-world context; if every post is purely synthetic, there may not be enough authentic substance to keep friend groups coming back after the novelty fades.