Kate, the Princess of Wales, released a video last week in which she shared her cancer diagnosis, which followed major abdominal surgery in January. The statement was intended to not just inform the public but also put to rest rumors and speculation that had grown ever more convoluted and obsessive since Britain’s future queen disappeared from public view following a formal appearance on Christmas Day.
However, only minutes after the video’s release, social media swarmed with claims that the video was a fake generated using AI.
Some of that suspicion was understandable, considering that a recent photograph released by the royal family had been manipulated using photo-editing tools. Kate admitted as much earlier this month. But claims that the video was fake persisted even after BBC Studios confirmed its authenticity in the best way possible, not through some complicated analysis of the imagery, but by making it clear that they filmed the video.
For years, when people warned against the threat of AI tools generating audio, images, and video, the biggest concern was that these tools might be used to generate convincing fakes of public figures in compromising positions. But the flip side of that possibility may be an even greater issue. Just the existence of these tools is threatening to deplatform reality.