We’ve finally advanced far enough in technology to a place where I have now been successfully tricked by an AI (artificial intelligence) video.
I used to pride myself in being able to tell the difference, looking at the small details of a video, such as the movement of the people or the computer-generated hands — people always end up with extra fingers.
The video that took me out wasn’t of people, but a viral one last week: an AI camera footage video of bunnies on a trampoline.
I thought, “Oh! That’s so cute, I’ll send it to my mom,” later to find a few scrolls down my Tik Tok page, another person reacted to that video in disbelief that it was AI and not real.
AI tricked me, and millions of others, apparently.
Times like these, I feel myself relating to my baby boomer parents despite the common reference to me as “kid” — I’m getting older and there’s nothing I can do about it.
Based on my research, artificial intelligence was coined in the 1950s, but based on my memory (and in my opinion), it didn’t seem to boom until the last 10 years. I’ll save you the time of reminiscing on the good ol’ days (before this new technology wave came in), but I will say — I don’t think I’m being dramatic when I say this — AI snuck up quick, has passed me and left me in the dust.
And I will be the first to admit, I find myself benefiting from AI in almost day-to-day scenarios, such as using Google’s AI Review to see what best removes coffee stains on a brand new blouse, or a summary of a new TV show I started binge watching (The Osbournes, by the way.)
There are so many benefits to the development of technology; however, with its amount of what seems like infinite knowledge, it can be scary how little we still know about it.
Some examples that quickly come to mind include seeing students use it to “aid” them in homework when it just completes it for them and they learn nothing; and then the ability to create false images or videos of what could be anything — I have a feeling there are not-so-nice people out there that won’t use it for creating family-friendly pictures.
And that’s just two examples.
So while I fell for the video of the bunnies, I’m on high alert now, looking for any clues that could give away a computer-generated image or sentence, and I’m trying to pay no attention to any content that I could pose the question to, “Does this seem like AI?”
I will add though, fake or not, the bouncing bunnies were pretty cute.
