Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures during his mix call-in-show and annual press convention on December 14, 2023 in Moscow, Russia.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin was requested a query by what gave the impression to be an AI-generated “deep pretend” of himself during a Q&A session with the general public Thursday.
Putin held his annual phone-in with the Russian public, which was mixed along with his end-of-year press convention. It’s a carefully adopted occasion, but in addition a rigorously orchestrated and curated affair, giving Russian residents an opportunity to talk instantly with the president on a variety of points.
“Mr President, good afternoon, I’m a scholar finding out at St Petersburg Institute. Do you may have lots of twins? And one other level, what’s your angle in the direction of the hazards with neural networks and synthetic intelligence?” the AI questioner requested, according to a live NBC News translation.
The query was met with laughter from the watching crowd, and a quick pause from a stern-looking Putin.
“I see it’s possible you’ll resemble me and communicate with my voice. But I’ve considered it and determined that just one individual have to be like me and communicate with my voice, and that will probably be me,” Putin responded.
The Kremlin recently dismissed long-standing hypothesis within the press and on social media that Putin makes use of physique doubles at some occasions. Meanwhile, there’s rising concern throughout the globe concerning the use of AI “deep fakes” to unfold misinformation.
“Deepfake” is a time period used to explain an AI created picture, sound or video of an actual individual. This tech is getting used to unfold false data by doctoring pictures or audio of political figures and celebs.
Putin, like different world leaders, is making an attempt to place Russia as a frontrunner in AI expertise at a time when nations around the globe are vying for a management place.
The U.S., China, and European Union are racing to dominate in AI — whereas additionally being attentive to the dangers surrounding the expertise — as it’s changing into an increasing number of superior, with some AI-generated avatars now practically indistinguishable from people.
—CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt and Ryan Browne contributed to this text.