A viral video that “revealed” that a popular TikTok user was actually an AI-generated avatar, its creators have admitted.
Kurt Skelton, a student and TikTok user, said the point of the video in which she transforms into a young woman was to “never fool people.”
In the video, Skelton, a 22-year-old student from Los Angeles, says that she is actually a 21-year-old visual effects artist from New Jersey named Zara Hussein.
Hussain then explains how he “created” a skeletal avatar by animating images generated by the DALL-E AI software.
Hussain says he created the skeletal look with the message “Conan O’Brien and Matt Smith have a 22-year-old son.”
Posted to Skelton’s account on Thursday, the video quickly went viral, reaching 14.1 million views as of Tuesday.
This led many users to fear that the year-old videos on the Skeleton page were actually a hoax, while others expressed skepticism.
However, in an interview with Input magazine, Skelton admitted that he was a real person and not an avatar created by Hussain.
He told the publication that the pair made the video as a light-hearted response to concerns from visual effects artists that AI technology could threaten jobs in the industry.
“I’ve always liked the idea of using AI in art, but lately I’ve been drawn to fears from artists that they’re going to quit because of AI,” he told Input.
“No one heard the original joke in the video,” he added. But when I say, “Will AI replace the role of the VFX artist?” she raises.
Even if the prank didn’t work, the stunt earned Skelton more than 100,000 followers over the weekend and a like from serial tech entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk.
It also prompted countless followers to check out their other social media accounts to see if the video was a hoax.
“My Instagram was flooded with comments asking if I was real, and my girlfriend’s Instagram was informed that she was, in fact, a robot.
Others expressed relief that AI technology did not create such believable characters.
Some pundits have raised concerns about the impact of the Skeleton video on a media landscape already riddled with misinformation.
Agnes Venema, a researcher at the University of Malta, told Input:
“Although I disagree with the idea that Skelton himself is responsible, the inconsistency with which he wrote the script and released this video makes me question whether he really considered the consequences. I think of the action”.
Skelton says he came up with the idea for the project in August. I immediately went back to Hussain and delivered the message: “I have the best idea for a collaboration on TIKTOK!”.
The couple used to follow each other, but they did not know each other outside of TikTok.
Impressed by their enthusiasm, Hussein agreed to be the artist behind the “Fake Avatar” project.
He then sent her the script, telling her how to position herself in the video to allow for clean and believable transitions.
Reflecting on the impact of the video, Skelton said, “I don’t blame the people who thought it was real.”
“The goal was never to mislead people. They did it to themselves.
Source: Metro
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