[imagesource:twitter/@skyferrori]

Pope Francis has pretty much set the internet alight this weekend after an image surfaced of him wearing an impressively large white puffer jacket.

At first glance, one is hella impressed by the pure drip of the good Lord’s representative here on earth, but at second glance (and a little more internet sleuthing), one is more gobsmacked by the power that artificial intelligence be.

That’s right, the images are totally fake.

The image was quickly called out by the eagle-eyed as an AI-generated image from Midjourney, the artificial intelligence tool that creates scarily stunning and highly realistic fake images.

Enjoy the anointed man serving absolute looks:

So it was Midjourney that generated this Pope Francis in a white puffer coat.
AI is coming for everyone 😂 pic.twitter.com/Nigr7sWZ3P

— Anambra 1st son💭 (@UchePOkoye) March 26, 2023

Pope Francis using a big white puffer jacket in the Vatican City, noon light, screen space Global illumination, lumen reflections, space Reflections, diffraction grading, chromatic aberration, ambient occlusion, realistic photograph, –v 5 pic.twitter.com/MziPKpRsyf

— El Malaguero (@ElMalaguero) March 25, 2023

The AI tool is so advanced, people were immediately duped, per DMARGE:

Keyon Elkins, YouTube vlogger, was more mixed in his reaction, saying that he had been “gagging” over the image all day: “The picture of the Pope in a puffer trench coat is AI????? I’ve been gagging all day and it’s not even real???”

A few famous people also got taken along for the ride, including Chrissy Teigen:

I thought the pope’s puffer jacket was real and didnt give it a second thought. no way am I surviving the future of technology

— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) March 26, 2023

As well as the far-right influencer Ian Miles Cheong:

The Pope is a fashion icon. Respect the drip. pic.twitter.com/DuwcV4tCD7

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 26, 2023

Along with everyone else:

Time to ban AI. I fell for that picture of the Pope looking dripped out in a puffer jacket. I feel like a WhatsApp aunty now.

— • (@Listenerbell_) March 25, 2023

Can’t believe the pope in a puffer jacket will be the undoing of society

— Lucy (@gooseykitchen) March 26, 2023

Cue the fear-mongering:

AI image of Pope in a puffer jacket fooled the internet, and experts fear there’s worse to come https://t.co/ybJB70cCY4

— Jeff Rasmussen (@TeachMrR) March 27, 2023

But you have to appreciate the folks who added to the chaos:

He truly is the Pope for the hip hop generation pic.twitter.com/A3XjdLyidr

— Nooruddean (@BeardedGenius) March 25, 2023

Explain the life cycle of a butterfly using only photos of the pope pic.twitter.com/xcay7XO0qw

— James Felton (@JimMFelton) March 25, 2023

Pope Francis drippy as hell. rockin’ the Jesus piece like a true 90’s rap god. https://t.co/sUQyQfRcQ9

— Muhammad Butt (@muhammadbutt) March 25, 2023

Abraham Lincoln when he saw the Pope’s drip pic.twitter.com/qdQaRjTUW6

— JaValle (@JaValle) March 25, 2023

We’ve seen so many fake images – including AI-generated images of Donald Trump being arrested – that we barely blink an eye anymore:

Making pictures of Trump getting arrested while waiting for Trump’s arrest. pic.twitter.com/4D2QQfUpLZ

— Eliot Higgins (@EliotHiggins) March 20, 2023

The serious concerns of AI aside, the Pope’s puffer look has done well to make us all see how incredible AI can be:

ppl are all like “ohh this ai stuff is getting sinister” and “its scary how realistic AI images are getting” but the moment someone uses AI to throw the pope in a white puffer coat and everyone starts clapping and honking like a bunch of seals

— america’s lounge singer (@KrangTNelson) March 25, 2023

Sad as it might be that the Pope isn’t actually pimping out, we ought to blink more as AI-generated images could be used to spread disinformation and misinformation.

Stay awake out there, everyone.

[source:dmarge]