The warnings from even the fiercest advocates of AI that the technology could be used to harm people might be too late — it’s already happening, and the biggest celebrities on Earth are targets.
Just this week two of the most famous people on the planet, actor Tom Hanks and YouTube star MrBeast, have been the subject of deepfake images used to sell products.
This week an artificially generated video of MrBeast — real name Jimmy Donaldson — began circulating on TikTok.
In the clip Donaldson, who rakes in $82 million a year according to Forbes, seemingly tells the viewer they are one of 10,000 “lucky” people to have been selected to win an iPhone 15 Pro, a new release that Apple launched last month.
In the video Donaldson claims winners have to pay just $2 for the device, which retails for $999.
The video, which appeared under a ‘MrBeast’ username — complete with an apparent blue authentication mark — features the YouTuber’s likeness saying: “I’m MrBeast and I’m doing the world’s largest iPhone 15 giveaway.”
The avatar in the video, which also speaks in Donaldson’s voice, asks viewers to click on a link attached to the video in order to “claim” their prize.
Donaldson, who has 189 million subscribers on YouTube, has made a name for himself courtesy of his extravagant giveaways — for example helping 1,000 people hear for the first time and helping 1,000 blind people see for the first time — which may have lead some viewers to think the video was real.
But Donaldson turned to his more than 24 million followers on X — the site formerly known as Twitter — to warn them about the scam.
“Lots of people are getting this deepfake scam ad of me,” the 25-year-old wrote. “Are social media platforms ready to handle the rise of AI deepfakes? This is a serious problem.”
Lots of people are getting this deepfake scam ad of me… are social media platforms ready to handle the rise of AI deepfakes? This is a serious problem pic.twitter.com/llkhxswQSw
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) October 3, 2023
TikTok did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment, but told other outlets the ad and account had been removed from the platform within hours.
The platform has promised to crack down on deepfake images and videos. In March, TikTok’s updated policy said all images which are deepfake or manipulated, but replicate a realistic scenario, must be labelled as such.
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