Actors dressed to advertise film mistaken for real ‘AI robots’

"We are getting replaced by AI robots already," reads a post on X (formerly Twitter) published on November 21, 2023.

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Screenshot of the false post, taken on November 22, 2023

The post, liked more than 1,800 times, includes a video of a crowd at a sporting event. 

Sitting among the fans are several individuals with human faces and what appears to be a metal apparatus covering the back of their bald heads.

"AI taking over. They are replacing us," reads one of the comments under the post.

"We are not prepared for this," says another.

Other comments worry about the impact of AI-powered robots.

"If they continue at this rate, they will completely take over jobs overseas, people might be getting chased out of their jobs," said another user. 

Similar posts were shared elsewhere on Facebook and X.

But the claim that this video shows AI robots is false.

Movie promotion

Fans in the clip are wearing hats and jerseys with the Chargers logo on them. 

Using a keyword search for "AI robots Chargers game", AFP Fact Check found a local news report that said the "robots" were part of a promotion for an upcoming film called "The Creator" (archived here).

The article also included a video of the so-called robots, identical to those seen in the false posts.

The film, produced by 20th Century Studios, is about a futuristic war between humans and robots created with AI (archived here).

In the trailer, the AI robots depicted in the film have the same head apparatus as those worn by the individuals in the publicity campaign.

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A screenshot from the film’s official trailer, taken on November 22, 2023

A video on the film studio’s TikTok account shows the same "robots" seen in the false post, but in this clip, they are clearly wearing jumpsuits labelled with the movie’s title.

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A screenshot from the 20th Century Studio TikTok account (left) compared to a screenshot from the false X post (right), taken on November 22, 2023

In a Deadline article, Disney’s marketing head discussed how the movie’s creative team aimed to bring the film to life through its promotional campaign (archived here).

Disney sent "models dressed as AI robots" to sporting events as a publicity stunt, videos of which garnered millions of views online.

The actors also appeared on the London metro, at a San Diego baseball game, and at a Texas football match (archived here, here, and here).

International concern

At the world’s inaugural AI Safety Summit in February 2023, world leaders called for a "united" response to the potential threats posed by AI technology (archived here). 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told leaders that AI had "possible long-term negative consequences" on everything from jobs to culture, while its concentration in a few countries and companies "could increase geopolitical tensions."

Leaders from 28 countries, including the United Kingdom, the US, and China, signed a safety pledge, agreeing to work together to understand and manage the risks posed by the rapidly advancing technology.

AI-generated content is already sowing confusion online about elections, the Israel-Hamas conflict, and natural disasters. 

AFP Fact Check has created a guide with tips on identifying images, videos, and audio made using AI, which you can read here.