Pop icon Taylor Swift has made headlines again. However, there are no celebrity boyfriends this time but she has been a victim of AI-generated deep fake images being circulated around the internet. Though the popstar has not addressed it yet, the issue seems to have caused concern to the White House.
The White House reportedly spoke about the issue of AI-related image generation and the dangers of it on privacy. The Press Secretary reportedly addressed the issue in a press conference and urged Congress to take suitable legislative action against the nefarious use of AI technology.
AI-Generated Images Of Taylor Swift Went Viral
Taylor Swift has been in the headlines for various reasons. Last year she made news for her relationship with notable footballer Travis Kelce after she was seen at various matches of the sportsman. The singer-songwriter also made history with her concert tour called The Eras Tour and the subsequent concert film of the same name.
Swift made headlines earlier this month when sexually explicit AI-generated images of the popstar went viral on the Internet. According to The Verge, the images were shared on the social networking site X (formerly Twitter). The images reportedly received over forty-five million views before being taken down by the site and the account was suspended. The post was up for seventeen hours.
Though Taylor Swift did not address the issue as yet, the fans spoke out on the dangers of the technology. X posted a statement without directly addressing the pop star on their account, talking about their safety policy. It said,
“Posting Non-Consensual Nudity (NCN) images is strictly prohibited on X and we have a zero-tolerance policy towards such content. Our teams are actively removing all identified images and taking appropriate actions against the accounts responsible for posting them. We’re closely monitoring the situation to ensure that any further violations are immediately addressed, and the content is removed. We’re committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all users.”
Fans and X users, however, demanded for better policies and fewer steps to ensure violaters were properly reported and removed.
Taylor Swift’s AI Images Got The Attention Of The White House
Swifties were not the only ones concerned about Taylor Swift’s explicit images. The issue caught the attention of the White House who were asked what steps were being taken to ensure people were protected from the technology being misused. A representative of ABC News brought up Swift’s example of the harm that AI technology could cause people.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mentioned that she was aware of the issue and that the White House urged Congress to take suitable legislative actions to ensure protection for the people. She said to ABC News,
“We are alarmed by the reports of the…circulation of images that you just laid out – of false images to be more exact, and it is alarming…we believe they have an important role to play in enforcing [social media companies’] own rules to prevent the spread of misinformation, and non-consensual, intimate imagery of real people.”
Other celebrities such as Tom Hanks, Mr. Beast, Scarlett Johannson, and Kristen Bell have also fallen victim to such AI-generated deepfakes, causing privacy concerns.
