AI alters the reality: fake Met Gala looks, deepfakes, created nudes

AI and other technology used to make content not related to the real and living person

Artificial intelligence changes our lives. Some tools, like ChatGPT, make some jobs easier; for others, other technologies help with everyday tasks. These new technological advances can be used in many industries, such as medicine, healthcare, and even fashion, or in more common and obvious ones, technology and science.

However, people with not-so-good intentions also rely on these technologies. Scammers, fraudsters, or even criminals with financial gain as a goal can use these new methods and theories to serve them. This is why security, authentication and cybersecurity, online safety, and defenses become more important.

Nowadays, scandals with nude photos created with AI and videos where some known faces do unthinkable things create chaos. All those creations are made using promising AI technology when malicious actors thrive on wreaking havoc or making someone's reputation worse.

These fake creations also appear as artists' new releases that have nothing to do with them. About a year ago, a song made with artificial intelligence (AI) that sounded like Drake and the Weeknd became very popular. It got 20 million views in just two days. However, Universal Music took it down because it broke copyright rules.

This week, the situation changed when lawyers representing the late rapper Tupac Shakur's estate threatened to sue Drake. They were upset about Drake's song "TaylorMade," where he used AI to mimic Tupac's voice in a song criticizing another rapper, Kendrick Lamar. Drake has removed this song from his social media, but it's still possible to find it online^[1].

Meanwhile, governments in Australia and the United Kingdom are planning to make it illegal to create fake adult content using deepfake technology without permission from the people shown. In December, a report from AI Eye mentioned that apps like Reface, DeepNude, and Nudeify are making it very easy for anyone with a smartphone to create deepfakes. Websites that allow people to create fake nude images are getting tens of millions of visits every month, according to research from Graphika.

New technology messes up with our heads as tons of AI-generated Met Gala looks emerge

The Met Gala is an event that people have been waiting for since the beginning of the new year. Sometimes, these five months are also when the garments and gowns need to be made. The event creates a wave of content across various media and channels. Social media is filled with photos of celebrities, and people discuss who wore what and what designers made the best gowns.

This is the way for us, everyday people, to experience this event since the gala is an exclusive, invitation-based spectacle. The first Monday in May is a great day for fashionistas and fashion lovers. Celebrities announce their pregnancies, reveal lovers, and officially 'launch' relationships on these stairs while they walk the carpet^[2].

Photographs that fill social media and other channels now should be taken with a grain of salt. Many have praised celebrities for their looks, extravagant makeup, and fashion choices for this Met Gala 2024. However, they had to be surprised when those photos were recognized as AI-generated.

The Met Gala is famous for its bold fashion, where the biggest celebrities show off their most extravagant outfits. It's not just another awards show; it’s a playground for avant-garde style. If you enjoy celebrity fashion, it’s a feast for the eyes. For those who think it's all a bit silly, you might find humor in outfits that are far from comfortable or fashionable and can be categorized as not on theme.

This year's event, however, turned into a different puzzle and not for the gown that someone was wearing. A post on the social media platform X showed Katy Perry in a large gown with 3D floral decorations, its train blending into a moss-like fabric spreading over the Met Gala’s carpet. This caught viewers' eyes, but something was off.

The event's theme had a white and green carpet, yet in this image, it was beige and red—a clear sign the image was digitally altered. People called out these details, stating that this year's carpet was beige and teal, and this beige and red carpet is most likely from 2018. Despite this, the image quickly gathered over 10 million views and hundreds of thousands of likes.

Another post soon appeared, featuring Perry in a bronze corset and a floral skirt, but again, the editing was evident. No fashion outlets reported on Perry's attendance, and she herself hasn’t confirmed her presence, only adding to the mystery by liking these posts. People were confused by the question, "Did she or did she not?" since there was no confirmation that the singer would even appear this year^[3].

Fashion icons are used to troll people online and create chaos on social media

Similarly deceptive, an image showed Rihanna in a garden-themed dress matching the gala's theme, but she wasn't even at the event due to illness. The image, despite its popularity, was just another fake. It lacked the authenticity that stars like Cynthia Erivo and Lana Del Rey bring with their unique and true-to-theme looks.

The Met Gala is known for its creativity and style. This event often even sets trends and explores various boundaries of fashion, style, and camp. However, while visually interesting, these fake images miss the mark by not capturing the true spirit of the event. They remind us to question what we see online, especially when it seems too perfect.

Selena Gomez, the singer who recently became more famous and popularized because of her new relationship with producer and songwriter Benny Blanco, never confirmed her appearance at the Met Gala 2024. Her appearance at such events is not very common but gathers attention. AI-generated images of her on the carpet soon emerged online. She was dressed in a blue, green, and purple gown that reminded many of a buttery. These pictures were also soon reported as fake.

As for the real events and appearances, this year's co-host, Zendaya, has been one of the most anticipated guests on these famous stairs. The actress, already a favorite for best dressed, first appeared in a stunning blue-green outfit, looking like a stylish fairytale villain. Later, a photo surfaced showing her in a black leather gown with a floral headpiece.

Given recent deceptions, one might have expected this to be another fake. Surprisingly, it was genuine. After missing the gala for five years, Zendaya truly made a grand return by wearing two different outfits on the same night. People were still shaken to the core by those fake photos, so only videos and reels on social media were approved as the real footage from the event^[4].

With each new celebrity photo, viewers now find themselves scrutinizing the background details: the carpet patterns, the decorations along the stair railings, and even the appearance of the paparazzi. The Met Gala usually provides a fun escape to discuss extravagant celebrity fashion. However, in today’s world filled with advanced AI technology, these events also remind us to be cautious and not to take every image at face value, reinforcing the lesson that not everything we see online is real.