Will Smith has been charged with posting a video of fans applauding during his current summer tour that included artificial intelligence (AI) bullets.
In order to promote his latest album of the same name, the Hollywood actor as well as rapper started the UK leg of his Based on a True Story tour on Sunday, August 24, in Scarborough. The official YouTube page of Will Smith published a video prior to the shows along with the caption:
“My favourite part of tour is seeing you all up close. Thank you for seeing me too.”
The YouTube clip, that appears to feature dedicated fans of Will Smith sobbing and holding homemade banners, has attracted attention in the last few days partly because of the suspicions from the viewers that it heavily depends on artificial intelligence (AI).
While some audience members appear to have strangely shaped hands—some of which look to have six fingers—other photos show features that are fuzzy or deformed.
The knuckle of a man seems to be blur next to his sign as does his sign that reads, “‘You Can Make It’ helped me survive cancer. Thank you, Will.” The woman behind him has a bandana over her wrist, while the woman in front of him appears to be holding his hand.
The actor of “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” was heavily slammed by his fans in the comments section of the YouTube video for showcasing what certain are calling to be “fake AI crowd.”
One critic said:
“Imagine having to use AI footage of crowds while you’re this wealthy and well-known. Tragic, man”.
Another wrote:
“So not only is this an abomination to look at because it’s low quality phone footage that’s been heavily AI upscaled, but there’s also in-between scenes that are clearly AI-generated.”
In the music industry, artificial intelligence (AI) is an issue that is heavily debated. Although some artists fight for additional protection for their work, others suffer backlash for making use of AI.
In March of this year, Smith’s first album in twenty years, Based on a True Story, was released.
