\n The New York Times<\/a> reported about the proliferation of AI-generated influencers supporting President Donald Trump across popular social media, many reading from the same (awkward) script.<\/p>\n
On the surface, an influencer making money from a Coachella post when they were nowhere near the concerts and a political influence operation reliant on non-existent Trump backers may not seem to have much in common.
But they do. They highlight the new perils of AI\u2019s ability to generate extremely realistic pictures and videos that can fool the masses and have potentially far-reaching ramifications for our economy and our democracy.<\/p>\n
My upshot: Be extra careful sharing or believing influencer content online. This is true especially if you agree with the message or if the message makes you angry. Rage-sharing is still sharing. Don\u2019t help these individuals or groups deceive your fellow Americans.<\/p>\n
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By clicking “Sign Up”, you will receive the latest updates, including emails, from U.S. News & World Report and our trusted partners and sponsors, and you agree to our Terms and Conditions<\/a> & Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Coachella Con<\/p>\n At The Verge, Jess Weatherbed took stock of the online content related to what is formally known as The Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in California.<\/p>\n \u201cA quick scroll through my social media feeds has already shown me many uncannily attractive figures in glitzy outfits, posing for perfectly staged photographs with celebrities,\u201d Weatherbed wrote. \u201cOnly some of these content creators aren\u2019t really there. They don\u2019t even exist at all outside of our screens. They\u2019re generated using AI tools.\u201d<\/p>\n Yes, some of the accounts acknowledge being artificial. But others do not, or do not do so consistently. Some of them have tell-tale glitches that identify them as AI. But many are good enough to garner thousands of followers and millions of views.<\/p>\n \u201cAny influencer coverage of a pop culture event can feel performative these days given the chance to monetize any such opportunities,\u201d Weatherbed wrote. \u201cBut the involvement of fake influencers, with no clear disclosures, feels like it\u2019s taking advantage of people who are unable to attend events like Coachella in person.\u201d<\/p>\n Made-up MAGA Mob<\/p>\n At The New York Times, Tiffany Hsu documented a more insidious phenomenon seeking to influence political outcomes: a surge in AI-generated fake influencers apparently designed to \u201chook conservative voters.\u201d<\/p>\n Hsu\u2019s report features a sampling of 10 videos in which a very diverse cast of computer-crafted figures all read from the same script. \u201cThe Left say (sic) Republicans aren\u2019t United\u2026that\u2019s funny because I bet I can get a Trump supporter from every state to comment.\u201d<\/p>\n None of the accounts the Times reviewed self-identified as AI-generated.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not clear who created the A.I. accounts, and determining whether they are the product of a hired content farm, a foreign influence operation, an experiment or something else is difficult,\u201d Hsu reported. \u201cThey all agree, however, that creating such avatars is becoming easier, especially for contractors and marketing companies that now specialize in developing and dispatching AI avatars in bulk for increasingly low prices.\u201d<\/p>\n