Will Smith is catching some heat. And IMO, for good reason. Have you seen this yet? The rapper/actor just dropped a tour highlight reel on Instagram and some fans think he used AI to pad the crowd.
Like, what?!
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Smith is out on the road right now behind Based On A True Story, his first studio album in two decades. The IG video shows the usual: packed venues, fans screaming at the barricade, handshakes, signs. Smith even wrote, “My favourite part of tour is seeing you all up close. Thank you for seeing me too.”
Except… some of those fans don’t exactly look human. Distorted faces. Extra fingers. Hands merging into signs. One shot shows a guy holding a message about surviving cancer, but his knuckles literally melt into the poster.
Reddit wasted no time calling it “pathetic”, one user said: “It looks like image upscaling gone horribly wrong. I’d guess those are real people who now get to see what a melted waxwork of themselves would be like.”
AI fakery in music is already a hot button issue. A recent study warned the industry could lose a quarter of its income to AI within four years. Streaming platforms like Deezer say they’re flooded with AI songs daily. And major names like Elton John, Dua Lipa, Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, Robbie Williams are begging governments to crack down on copyright loopholes.
Meanwhile, SZA has called AI users “codependent on a machine” and James Cameron says he’s worried we’re living through a Terminator prequel.
Smith hasn’t commented. Yet. But you know that’s coming.
You could say someone needs to slap his marketing director.
Question is—AI slip-up or just sloppy editing? Or does it even matter? What I don’t get is why even us AI in the first place? Clearly the concert was packed. Why not just use footage of the ACTUAL SHOW?! Just saying. That’s not a slip-up or sloppy, that’s just lazy.
