Obama, Trump, and Biden play Overwatch, Minecraft, and more together. Angela Merkel and Karl Lauterbach take down Otto Waalkes in Counter-Strike. Not really, but an AI makes it sound exactly that way. Dozens of memes are currently being created from the projects, going viral and entertaining – but also raising concerns.
What kind of clips are these? Right now, videos are going viral on TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, and others, where the current and former presidents of the USA and even German politicians play together, showcasing intense rivalries. They sound real.
Dozens of these clips are now circulating and being shared enthusiastically. Some have millions of views and likes, and more are coming. There are even video series that build upon each other.
Where do the videos come from? None of the videos are actually real; they were all created by artificial intelligence. AI can do much more, than just create fancy artworks.
The technology writes real conversations and texts and is now being used to imitate voices. A very realistic example is Trump, getting upset about Biden being on his Overwatch team or Biden blowing up Trump’s house in Minecraft because it looks like the White House. Videos of German politicians and celebrities are also circulating:
AI sounds exactly like US presidents – Raises concerns
What kind of AI is this? There are several projects currently enabling voice imitation. One of those used to create the corresponding videos is ElevenLabs.
With the AI, various voices can be imitated. These include prominent voices such as those of presidents or celebrities like Elon Musk and Ben Shapiro, who also “appear” in videos.
As some users point out in the comments, the voices sound almost “too real.” While that is astonishing, it is also somewhat frightening.
This is the controversy: The creators of the videos all point out that their works are only for entertainment purposes and should not offend anyone. However, there has been an outcry about this technology before.
Voice actors and actors, for example, see their jobs threatened when everything can suddenly be taken over by machines. A new MMORPG even wants to enable real conversations solely through AI.
It is concerning that the voices of the most powerful people in the world can be mimicked. This makes it even harder to filter out what is fact and what is not in media.
Additionally, considering issues like cyberbullying, these technologies can also harm private individuals.
Corresponding filters are already influencing millions:
