It’s a surreal world we live in – AI-generated videos of celebrities that NEVER actually happened. An online AI-based video editing platform, ‘Deepfake’, recently created an AI-generated video of Will Smith eating spaghetti, much to the amazement of the internet.
The short video clip is titled ‘Will Smith Spaghetti Eating’ and even with its obvious flaws, it still comes across as rather believable. In the video, Smith is imitating the classic statue of ‘David’ by Michelangelo, eating a plate of spaghetti from a balcony in the background.
The video clip has been widely shared in various media and platforms as it evokes a strange psychological reaction in viewers. The juxtaposition between Smith’s real-life persona and the video clip of him eating spaghetti creates a disconcerting experience, much like the feeling one gets from looking at a painting of a clown. As the video goes up in popularity, the conversation surrounding it is mostly centered around the share of fun and disorientation it brings.
It’s true that the video isn’t perfectly realistic. One can see the strange rendering and mismatched skin tones of Smith’s face. But it still astounds with its terrible beauty. Deepfake technology can already deceive our eyes with its extraordinary effects and this video proves just that.
At the same time, questions are raised around the possibilities of Deepfake and its ethical dilemmas. It is a technology to be explored with due caution as this article effortless visual manipulation of celebrities. As Smith himself rightfully said in an Instagram post, “The only False edit is one that’s not true to the original purpose”.
