Madonna sparked controversy after posting deepfake images of herself with Pope Francis on social media. The images have fueled a debate about the use of artificial intelligence to create art.
The image of Madonna and Pope Francis amplified a debate about AI PHOTO Madonna / Instagram
The leader of the Catholic Church is a regular subject of AI-generated hoaxes. One of the defining images of the AI boom was Pope Francis in a Balenciaga puffer jacket, according to The Guardian.
The remarkably realistic image went viral in March last year, being seen by millions of people. However, Francis did not find the situation amusing. He alluded to the Balenciaga image in a speech on AI in January, warning of the impact of deepfakes.
The Pope has been the target of deepfake images PHOTO Reddit several times
“Fake news… today can use deepfakes, meaning the creation and dissemination of images that seem perfectly plausible, but are false – and I have been the subject of such a phenomenon”he said.
Other deepfake images show Pope Francis wrapped in a Pride flag or holding an umbrella on a beach. As with the Balenciaga image, these were created using the Midjourney AI tool.
The Italian digital artist behind the images of Madonna, RickDick, said he did not intend to offend with the photos, which show the pope with his arm around the singer’s waist or hugging her.
“My goal is to make people think and, if possible, smile,” said the artist, who works under the pseudonym RickDick but declined to reveal his real name.
Papa, the target of deepfakes
He explained that memes – viral images that are constantly altered and recycled online – represent “our new visual culture, which I find fascinating because of their ability to quickly communicate deep ideas.”
The Pope is an obvious target for deepfakes, according to experts, because “fingerprints” vast amount of videos, images and audio recordings targeting him. AI models are trained using the open internet, full of content featuring famous public figures, from politicians to celebrities to religious leaders.
“The Pope is frequently in the public eye, and there are vast amounts of photos, videos and audio clips of him on the web”explained Sam Stockwell, research associate at the Alan Turing Institute in the UK.
“Because AI models are often trained indiscriminately on such data, it becomes much easier for these models to reproduce the facial features and likeness of people like the pope compared to those who do not have such a large fingerprint.”
How AI facilitates the creation of deepfakes
RickDick said the AI model used to create the images of Francis, posted on his Instagram account and later re-shared by Madonna, was specifically trained on images of the pope and the singer, using a paid platform called Krea.ai. However, realistic images of Francis can also be easily created with free models such as Stable Diffusion, allowing users to place him on a bicycle or a soccer field with a few simple instructions.
PHOTO Madonna / Instagram
Stockwell added that there is also the obvious appeal of placing a powerful figure in unusual or embarrassing situations – a basic ingredient of satire.
“The Pope is associated with strict rules and traditions, so some people would like to present him in unusual situations against this background”he said.
“I like to use public figures, objects, fashion and events to provoke thought, combining the absurd with the unconventional”RickDick stated. “It’s like working with an endless puzzle, always looking for new creative connections. The pope is just one of my favorite subjects.”
