At the Mathrubhumi International Literary Festival, an AI-generated deepfake avatar of politician Shashi Tharoor stunned viewers at first sight as it interviewed the real Tharoor in a seated conversation. The talks between the real-life MP and the AI replica obscured the cues of reality in the roughly 8-minute clip posted by Mathrubhumi International Festival Of Letters on their YouTube channel.
The AI avatar was trained with the style and language of the MP and asked prepared questions, according to HT Tech. Besides a range of topics, the conversation touched the the positives and negatives of this evolving technology.
"Surprised when you first learned that an artificial intelligence model like myself could engage in conversations?" asked Al model. "Yeah, sure, I was surprised," the MP replied while iterating that the idea is "slightly troubling". The other talking points revolved around digital media and competition in the Indian context, among other discussions.
The real Tharoor also stressed the challenges around manipulative deepfakes that swap faces to hamper the reputation of celebrities. He also highlighted the altered nature of digital media from a community of genuine people after the entry of organised elements to influence public opinion.
As for his thoughts on the AI avatar, he termed the AI program '"intimidating and worrying" while lauding the fun and potential possibilities of the technology. A close analysis of the AI replica reveals limited lip movements, repetitive hand gestures and head movements helping identify the technological nature of the replica on the left of the real Tharoor.
Users have been posting a wide range of reactions to the interview on X (formerly Twitter). "Fab stuff!!!!!" a user said. Another one said: "Scary!". While giving an analysis of the AI replica, a third one (@anushakunmittal) added "the similarities on surface level are bit scary".