Its hard to ignore; the image of the 86-year-old sitting pontiff went viral.
The whole vibe of the photo made him look hip and like he was walking off the fashion runway.
But theres one big caveat with this image.
Photo: AI-generated image of Pope Francis created with Midjourney
Its an AI-generated photo made using the art tool Midjourney.
The image is incredibly convincing and had many people fooled.
AI is notoriously bad at rendering human hands, and this photo is no exception.
But that small detail went unnoticed by many who didnt realize it was fake until they learned otherwise.
AI-generated art has given anyone the opportunity to create their own images.
If they can communicate it through text prompts, it can be produced.
This photo is no different.
The person who generated it is named Pablo Xavier.
Hes a 31-year-old construction worker from the Chicago area.
I make a run at do funny stuff or trippy artpsychedelic stuff,he explained of the image.
It just dawned on me: I should do the Pope.
By Saturday, it was gaining momentum online; he was shocked at how quickly the image went viral.
I was just blown away, he expressed.
I didnt want it to blow up like that.
To him, it was definitely scary that people believed the image to be real without questioning its veracity.
This experience has been eye-opening for Pablo, particularly in the real impact that these fake images can have.
I didnt even think about that [before], he said.
Its definitely going to get serious if they [governments] dont start implementing laws to regulate it.
Its a good lesson for us all as AI continues to become more intertwined with our daily lives.
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