November 4, 2022 at 5:36 pm

A 22-Year-Old Fooled Millions by Pretending to Be an AI-Generated Image

by Matthew Gilligan

A 22-year-old film student named Curt Skelton shared a video on TikTok where he pulled a major artificial intelligence switcheroo and convinced people that he was an AI deepfake.

Screen Shot 2022 11 01 at 1.17.38 PM A 22 Year Old Fooled Millions by Pretending to Be an AI Generated Image

Photo Credit: TikTok

Skelton’s video went viral in a massive way and a lot of people didn’t understand that he was trying to be funny and that yes, he is real person who was being creative and having some fun while playing with his editing and AI skills.

Screen Shot 2022 11 01 at 1.17.46 PM A 22 Year Old Fooled Millions by Pretending to Be an AI Generated Image

Photo Credit: TikTok

Skelton said, “I honestly was expecting maybe 20,000 views at most. So 50% of 20,000 not getting a joke isn’t that bad or impactful. But 50% of 16 million on TikTok alone…Yeah, that wasn’t the plan, lol.”

Skelton posted a video on TikTok after his original video went viral where he addressed the controversy that his original video caused and he set the story straight.

@curt.skelton @curt.skelton ♬ SING – My Chemical Romance

The young man also said that this was a learning experience: “After I realized I had fooled way more people than anyone should have, I realized the power I had. But with great power comes great responsibility. So I will be a LOT more careful in the future.”

And he added, “I think the fact that so many people fell for it shows how little people understand AI and deep fakes in general.”

Yes, Curt Skelton is a real person! And don’t you forget it!

This AI stuff is something to keep an eye on! No doubt about it!

twistedsifter on facebook A 22 Year Old Fooled Millions by Pretending to Be an AI Generated Image