US singer Katy Perry said even her own mother was fooled by AI-generated fake images she posted Tuesday of herself pretending to attend the Met Gala in New York. “Couldn’t make it to the MET, I had to work,” the “Firework” singer wrote to her 207 million followers on Instagram. But two photos with it appear to show Perry on the famous steps of the Metropolitan Museum, which hosted the glitziest fashion night of the year on Monday. One had her wearing a huge floral dress, while a second had her in a warrior-style bronze bustier and grass petticoat.

She put her location as “Metaverse”, but many online fans failed to pick up on the fact that Perry was not actually present. The image even fooled Perry’s mother. The singer shared an exchange in which her mum wrote: “Didn’t know you went to the Met.” Perry responded: “lol mom the AI got you too, BEWARE!”

Other fakes also emerged of the evening, including images of singer Rihanna and actor Selena Gomez. Although AI has often been used to create harmful and sexualized images of celebrities, some are now embracing the technology themselves. Earlier this year, British singer-songwriter FKA Twigs revealed she had built a deepfake version of herself. It “is not only trained in my personality, but also can use my exact tone of voice to speak many languages,” she said in a statement.

“I will be engaging my ‘AI twigs’ later this year to extend my reach and handle my online social media interactions, whilst I continue to focus on my art from the comfort and solace of my studio,” she added. In January, a fake pornographic image of superstar Taylor Swift was viewed 47 million times on X in half a day before being removed by the platform. The following month, 20 internet giants including Meta (Instagram, Facebook) and X committed to deploying technologies to more effectively identify and report content generated by AI. — AFP