Why Pope Francis Is the Star of AI-Generated Photos

Pope Francis wearing a long, white puffer jacket inspired by Balenciaga. Francis rocking aviators and revving a motorcycle down a busy street. Francis turning the tables in a dim nightclub. Francis in a tactical vest, preparing to fly a fighter jet. Francis sharing a beer at Burning Man.

Over the last few weeks, dozens of photos have appeared showing the leader of the world’s Roman Catholics in strange scenarios, sending social media into a tizzy. Apart from the pontiff himself, the images all have something in common: They are fake, made by artificial intelligence tools that create images from short text prompts.

Many public figures — including the basketball star LeBron James and various Real Housewives — have popped up in A.I.-generated pictures recently, but the images with Francis have made the biggest splash. They have earned more views, likes and comments than many other A.I. photos, according to a review by The New York Times, prompting a race to depict the 86-year-old in odder and odder situations.

“I had to get involved in the Pope thing,” one Reddit user recently wrote alongside A.I. images of Francis practicing martial arts, playing basketball and skateboarding. “Jumping on the Pope bandwagon,” another said, sharing an image of the pontiff speaking to a crowd of bikers.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/08/technology/ai-photos-pope-francis.html