THE NEW YORK TIMES: An A.I.-powered version of Mr. Musk has appeared in thousands of inauthentic ads, contributing to billions in fraud.
All Steve Beauchamp wanted was money for his family. And he thought Elon Musk could help.
Mr. Beauchamp, an 82-year-old retiree, saw a video late last year of Mr. Musk endorsing a radical investment opportunity that promised rapid returns. He contacted the company behind the pitch and opened an account for $248. Through a series of transactions over several weeks, Mr. Beauchamp drained his retirement account, ultimately investing more than $690,000.
Then the money vanished — lost to digital scammers on the forefront of a new criminal enterprise powered by artificial intelligence.
The scammers had edited a genuine interview with Mr. Musk, replacing his voice with a replica using A.I. tools. The A.I. was sophisticated enough that it could alter minute mouth movements to match the new script they had written for the digital fake. To a casual viewer, the manipulation might have been imperceptible.
“I mean, the picture of him — it was him,” Mr. Beauchamp said about the video he saw of Mr. Musk. “Now, whether it was A.I. making him say the things that he was saying, I really don’t know. But as far as the picture, if somebody had said, ‘Pick him out of a lineup,’ that’s him.” » | Stuart A. Thompson | Wednesday, August 14, 2024
