08-07-2025
Disturbing fake AI video of Pahang Sultan raises concern on identity theft
LOOKING at the way things are going, artificial intelligence (AI) will do more than displaced humans and take their jobs. AI has already demonstrated its ability to steal our identities.
This is best demonstrated by a recent video where AI generated a very convincing video of the Sultan of Pahang. The alarming video showed the Sultan stating that Malaysians who have debt can have it settled by Datuk Abdul Majid.
The AI generated figure said he trusted Majid and added that people should follow, comment and send WhatsApp messages to this poor Datuk Abdul Majid, whoever he is.
Istana Pahang memaklumkan bahawa penyebaran video menggunakan teknologi kecerdasan buatan (AI) yang memaparkan wajah menyerupai Sultan Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah berkaitan tawaran bantuan kepada rakyat adalah tidak benar.
Berita penuh…
— Berita AlHijrah (@beritaalhijrah) July 6, 2025
According to Istana Pahang, via the official Facebook account of the Pahang Royal Household, clarified that the video circulated through several TikTok accounts is false and constitutes a misuse of Al-Sultan Abdullah's image for fraudulent purposes and to deceive the public.
'The public is advised not to share the video, not to believe any links or information contained within it, and to report any suspicious content to the authorities immediately,' said the statement.
On another note, how does AI generate such realistic videos of people without any difficulty? The secret lies in the power of machine learning.
According to the website Snapbar, AI video generators rely heavily on machine learning algorithms that are trained on vast amounts of data.
Through this training, the algorithms learn to recognise patterns, visual cues, and emotional nuances—allowing them to piece together videos that appear strikingly real.
These systems can interpret and process elements such as objects, settings, and facial expressions to craft visuals that are not only coherent but also emotionally engaging.
What's truly remarkable is that the more data these AI models are exposed to, the better they become. Over time, their outputs grow more polished and realistic, thanks to this continuous learning loop.
This ongoing refinement is what enables AI video generators to produce content that is both captivating and impressively lifelike. —July 1, 2025
Main image: @beritaalhijrah (X)
