The god illusion: why the pope is so popular as a deepfake image
For the pope, it was the wrong kind of madonna.The pop legend, she of the 80’s anthem Like a Prayer, has stirred controversy in recent weeks by posting deepfake images on social media which show the pontiff embracing her.It has fanned the flames of a debate which is already raging over the creation of AI art in which Pope Francis plays a symbolic, and unwilling, role.The head of the Catholic church is used to being the subject of AI-generated fakery.One of the defining images of the AI boom was Francis in a Balenciaga puffer jacket.
A remarkably realistic picture, it went viral in March last year and was seen by millions.Francis, however, did not see the funny side.He alluded to the Balenciaga image in a speech about AI in January where he warned about the impact of deepfakes.“Fake news … today can employ ‘deepfakes’, namely the creation and diffusion of images that appear perfectly plausible but false – I too have been an object of this,” he said.Other deepfakes include Francis draped in a Pride flag and holding a parasol on a beach.
As with the Balenciaga image, they were created by the Midjourney AI tool.The Italian digital artist behind the Madonna images, RickDick, said he did not intend to cause offence with the pictures, which show Francis with his arm around the singer’s waist and then embracing her.Another image on RickDick’s Instagram page is more likely to offend, showing a photo of the pope’s face seamlessly merged with that of Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of the UnitedHealthcare chief executive, Brian Thompson.RickDick said the Mangione image was intended to satirise the online obsession with the American, which is “elevating him to a god-like figure”.“My goal is to make people think and, if possible, smile,” said the artist, who works under the moniker RickDick but declined to give his full name.
He said memes – viral images that are endlessly tweaked and recycled online – were our “new visual culture, and I find them fascinating for their ability to quickly communicate deep ideas”.The pope is an obvious target for deepfakes, according to experts, because there is such a vast digital “footprint” of videos, images and voice recordings related to Francis.AI models are trained on the open internet, which is stuffed with content featuring famous public figures, from politicians to celebrities and religious leaders.“The pope is so frequently featured in the public eye and there are large volumes of photos, videos, and audio clips of him on the open web,” said Sam Stockwell, a research associate at the UK’s Alan Turing Institute.“Since AI models are often trained indiscriminately on such data, it becomes a lot easier for these models to replicate the facial features and likeness of individuals like the pope compared with those who don’t have such a large digital footprint.
”RickDick said the AI model he used to create the Francis pictures, which were posted on his Instagram account and then reposted by Madonna, was trained specifically on images of the pope and the pop star, on a paid-for platform called Krea.ai.However, realistic pictures of Francis can also be created easily with freely accessible models, such as Stable Diffusion, allowing users to place him on a bicycle or a football pitch with a few simple prompts.Stockwell adds that there is also the obvious appeal of juxtaposing a powerful figure with unusual or embarrassing situations – a basic ingredient of satire.“He is associated with strict rules and traditions so some people would like to deepfake him in situations that are unusual relative to that background,” he said.
Add AI into the satirical mix, and it means more papal deepfakes are likely.“I enjoy using public figures, objects, fashion and events to provoke thought by mixing the absurd with the unconventional,” said RickDick.“It’s like working with an endless puzzle, always seeking new creative connections.The pope is just one of my favourite themes to work on.”
Party City shutters after nearly 40 years, firing workers without severance pay
The party is over at Party City, once the largest supplier of balloons and other fun-time supplies in the US, as the company announced Friday it was closing down all of its stores, ending nearly 40 years in business.Barry Litwin, the Party City CEO, told employees that the chain was “winding down” operations immediately and that today would be their last day of employment.Staff were told they would not receive severance pay, and they were told their benefits would end as the company goes out of business, CNN reported.Litwin said the company’s “very best efforts have not been enough to overcome” its financial challenges that had included inflation that had contributed to higher costs and dragged on consumer spending.The abrupt end comes just four months after Litwin was appointed CEO of the New Jersey-based company
FTSE 100 share index records biggest weekly loss in a year, as US shutdown fears hit markets – as it happened
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US judge finds Pegasus spyware maker liable over WhatsApp hack
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Workers in Saudi Arabia say Amazon failed to compensate them for labor abuses: ‘They played a game against me’
Thirty-three of 44 current and former contract workers who paid large recruiting fees say they didn’t receive refunds after working within the company’s Saudi operations In February, one of the world’s richest employers, Amazon, announced it had refunded nearly $2m to more than 700 overseas workers who had been forced to pay big recruiting fees to get work at the company’s warehouses in Saudi Arabia.It was a rare win for migrant laborers, a class of vulnerable workers who are often targeted for deceptive recruiting tactics and other abuses. One Nepali laborer said he was so shocked when a refund from Amazon appeared in his bank account that he stayed up much of the night, rechecking his account balance on his phone.But not all of the migrants who had worked for Amazon in Saudi Arabia are happy with the online retailer’s efforts to make things right. Many say they never got any reimbursement from the company
Michael van Gerwen promises ‘more to come’ after fast start at PDC worlds
Michael van Gerwen began his bid for a fourth PDC world title with a comfortable 3-0 victory against England’s James Hurrell.Van Gerwen, champion in 2014, 2017 and 2019, has struggled for form of late and not won a major televised tournament this year. But the Dutchman eased past Hurrell, who beat Jim Long on his world championship debut on Tuesday, in winning each set 3-1.“I think I played OK, of course like everyone knows it’s been a tough year for me,” Van Gerwen, the No 3 seed, told Sky Sports after his second-round victory. “To stand up here and do the thing you want to do always takes a lot of energy
Tyson Fury weighs in with war cry at 50lb more than Oleksandr Usyk
Tyson Fury will weigh at least 50lb more than Oleksandr Usyk when the two men fight for the world heavyweight championship in Riyadh. At the official weigh-in on Friday night, Fury scaled 281lb while wearing all his clothes, including a heavy black leather jacket to keep him warm in the biting December cold. Usyk, the defending champion, weighed 226lb after removing only his tracksuit top.The 55lb weight discrepancy will be slightly reduced in the ring – but it is striking that Fury weighed 19lb more than he did on the scales before their first fight in May. Usyk was just 3lb heavier than last time and, once he has stripped down to his boxing trunks and boots, he will be very close to the exact weight he was when he became the undisputed world heavyweight champion after he defeated Fury in an extraordinary and very close fight
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