“We can confirm that this was a false report and that the Pentagon was not attacked today,” a spokesman said. (File)
Washington:
A fake image of an explosion at the Pentagon briefly went viral and caused a 10-minute dip in markets on Monday, fueling more talk that generative AI could cause problems for society.
The image, which many observers suspected came from artificial intelligence, was spread by various accounts, forcing the Pentagon to note that there was no such explosion.
MANY PEOPLE POSTED ABOUT AN “EXPLOSION AT THE PENTAGON”
THIS IS CLEARLY AN AI GENERATED PHOTO COME ON PEOPLE DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU SEE pic.twitter.com/VShvtEE4sK
— GURGAVIN (@gurgavin) May 22, 2023
“We can confirm that this was a false report and that the Pentagon was not attacked today,” a spokesman said.
The Arlington, Virginia Fire Department also responded, posting on social media that no explosion or incident occurred at or near the Pentagon.
The incident followed other instances of fake imagery that have also caused a stir on the internet recently, including the arrest of former US President Donald Trump and Pope Francis in a puffer jacket.
The earliest tweet found by AFP sharing the image of the Pentagon came from a QAnon promotional account that has previously shared misinformation, though the original source of the image was not known.
Emerging generative AI technologies are making it easier for non-specialists to create compelling images in moments, rather than needing the expertise to use programs like Photoshop.
The shared view sent markets knocking for a few minutes, with the S&P 500 stumbling 0.29 percent from Friday’s closing price before recovering.
“There was probably a dip associated with this fake news when the (trading) machines picked it up, but I would say the size of the drop didn’t match the apparent bad nature of the fake news,” said Pat O’Hare. from Briefing.com.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
