Why the Texas floods are fuelling far-right conspiracy theories
Guardian contributor Ben Makuch tells Reged Ahmad why so many – including elected representatives – are turning to misinformation in an attempt to understand the tragedy
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The Guardian
24 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Jim Acosta interviews ‘made-up' AI avatar of Parkland victim Joaquin Oliver
Jim Acosta, former chief White House correspondent for CNN, stirred controversy on Monday when he sat for a conversation with a reanimated version of a person who died more than seven years ago. His guest was an avatar of Joaquin Oliver, one of the 17 people killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. The video shows Oliver, captured via a real photograph and animated with generative artificial intelligence, wearing a beanie with a solemn expression. Acosta asks the avatar: 'What happened to you?' 'I appreciate your curiosity,' Oliver answers in hurried monotone without inflection or pauses for punctuation. 'I was taken from this world too soon due to gun violence while at school. It's important to talk about these issues so we can create a safer future for everyone.' The avatar's narration is stilted and computerized. The movements of its face and mouth are jerky and unnatural, looking more like a dub-over than an actual person talking. Oliver was 17 years old when he was shot and killed in the hallway of Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school. According to Since Parkland, a reporting project about the victims of the shooting, the teenager loved writing and came to school that day, Valentine's Day, with flowers for his girlfriend. He would have been 25 on Monday. Acosta had teased the interview on social media saying it would be a 'show you don't want to miss' and a 'one of a kind interview'. The former correspondent now describes himself as an independent journalist and posts content on a Substack blog after parting ways with CNN in January. The former CNN anchor quickly faced criticism online in response to the stunt. One of the many angry users on the social media platform Bluesky posted: 'There are living survivors of school shootings you could interview, and it would really be their words and thoughts instead of completely made-up.' Acosta said in the video segment that Oliver's parents created the AI version of their son and his father, Manuel Oliver, invited him to be the first reporter to interview the avatar. Acosta also spoke to Manuel Oliver in the video, telling him: 'I really felt like I was speaking with Joaquin. It's just a beautiful thing.' The victim's father said he understood this was an AI version of his son and that he can't bring him back, but it was a blessing to hear his voice again. He said he's looking forward to seeing what more AI can do. Acosta's conversation is not the first time AI has been used to bring back the victims of Parkland. Last year, parents of several victims launched a robocalling campaign called The Shotline with the voices of six students and staff who were killed in the mass shooting. The idea was to use the AI voices to call members of Congress and demand action on gun reform. Oliver was one of the victims in that project too. 'I'm back today because my parents used AI to recreate my voice to call you,' Oliver's message said. 'How many calls will it take for you to care? How many dead voices will you hear before you finally listen?' Sign up to TechScape A weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our lives after newsletter promotion The use of AI to speak with recreations of the dead is still a work in progress with imperfect movements and voices, one that comes steeped in ethical controversy. Critics say creating digitized computer avatars of real people and allowing them to stand in for the deceased opens the door for misinformation, deepfakes, fraud and scams, making it hard for people to distinguish between what is real or not. Others have likewise used AI avatars to simulate the speech of victims of crimes. In May, an AI version of a man who was killed in a road rage incident in Arizona appeared in a court hearing. Lawyers played an AI video of the victim addressing his alleged killer in an impact statement. 'I believe in forgiveness, and a God who forgives. I always have and I still do,' the victim's avatar said. The presiding judge responded favorably. 'I loved that AI, thank you for that. As angry as you are, as justifiably angry as the family is, I heard the forgiveness,' he said. 'I feel that that was genuine.'
BBC News
24 minutes ago
- BBC News
Why is Donald Trump discussing Sydney Sweeney and American Eagle
President Donald Trump is praising Sydney Sweeney in the wake of backlash against the American actress for her controversial American Eagle advertisement. "Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the HOTTEST ad out there," he wrote in a Truth Social post. "Go get 'em Sydney!"The Emmy-nominated actress for roles in Euphoria and The White Lotus stars in a denim jeans advertisement, where she states: "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour. My jeans are blue." Critics have called out the blonde, blue-haired actress's wordplay in the commercial, using "genes" instead of "jeans" - sparking debate over race and western beauty Eagle has defended the advert and stated it was - and still is - only about the company's jeans. What is the controversy? The clothing store American Eagle released a jeans advertisement featuring Sweeney on 23 July. The slogan "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans" appeared on television, social media and on the outside of storefronts. Almost instantly, it received pushback from people on social criticised the "genes" pun coming from a blonde-haired, blue-eyed actress as echoing rhetoric associated with eugenics - the controlled selective reproduction of humans to improve future generations. Conservatives backed Sweeney and labelled the outrage as overblown and "woke". Reports then surfaced that Sweeney is a registered Republican. Shortly after, Trump made comments about the saga and expressed his support for her. Sweeney, herself, has not commented on the matter. What has American Eagle said? American Eagle has responded to the controversy and said the ad campaign "is and always was about the jeans". "Her jeans. Her story," American Eagle said. "We'll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone."Since Trump began speaking about the advertisement on Monday, the company's stock has skyrocketed, and was up as much as 20%. That did not surprise, Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce, who said American Eagle "nailed" the advertisement."It is exponentially harder than it was years ago," he told the BBC. "Success in marketing today is to get consumers sharing [advertisements] on social."But advertisements have to be "extraordinary" for people to share them, "whether that's extraordinary good or extraordinarily bad," he Adamson said the social media buzz American Eagle is getting from the advertisement is worth ten or 20 times what the store spent on creating it. Is Sweeney a Republican? Sweeney has been registered as a Republican in the state of Florida since 2024, records show. But she has not spoken out about politics. She made headlines in 2023 when videos and images from her mother's birthday party were shared online and showed some attendees in Make America Great Again hats. Sweeney responded and said people should "stop making assumptions" and turning the "innocent celebration" into an "absurd political statement."Months later, she was asked about it in an interview: "Honestly, I feel like nothing I say can help the conversation," she told GQ. "It's been turning into a wildfire, and nothing I can say will take it back to the correct track," she added. What has Trump said about it? On Sunday, reporters travelling with the US president asked him about Sweeney. "You'd be surprised at how many people are Republicans," Trump said after a reporter stated that the White Lotus star is a registered Republican."That's what I wouldn't have known, but I'm glad you told me that. If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic," Trump said on before Trump weighed in, the saga had been the focus of conservative media with some suggesting the advert had been not only a great promotion for American Eagle - but also for the political party.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
White House readies order to fine banks for dropping customers for political reasons, WSJ reports
Aug 4 (Reuters) - The White House is preparing an executive order that would fine banks for dropping customers for political reasons, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The order directs bank regulators to investigate whether any financial institutions might have violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, antitrust laws or consumer financial protection laws, the Journal reported citing a draft text of the order. The order, which could be signed as early as this week, provides for monetary penalties, consent decrees or other disciplinary measures against violators, the report added. The order also directs regulators to strike policies they have that might have contributed to banks dropping certain customers and requires the Small Business Administration to review the practices of banks that guarantee the agency's loans, the Journal said. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
