Macron's deepfake stunt was a viral hit – but did it make AI policy look like a joke?
As the artificial intelligence action summit winds down in Paris, the usual themes have emerged, with France and the UK announcing that they will cut red tape on AI expansion to keep Europe in the tech race.
Before Macron announced the cutting back of tech regulations, he showed a deepfake medley of himself with deepfakes. Surprisingly, he proclaimed, “It’s pretty well done – it made me laugh,” with the update “well-played” on his Instagram account.
It was a shock to see the leader employ such a jovial tone and embrace deepfakes, seemingly as a move to stay relevant and promote his and France’s credibility regarding AI. Some saw it as a calculated lead-in to the summit, turning deepfake into a performance piece.
“More seriously, with artificial intelligence, we can do some very big things: change healthcare, energy, life in our society,” Macron said at the summit. However, his actions at the weekend turned AI into a spectacle more than a policy speech. It seemed to trivialize deepfake regulation and tacitly endorse using the images of others as you please.
The deepfake stunt may be a clever way to engage the public and get them on board. But by showcasing a very gimmicky montage, Macron effectively shifts the conversation into the territory of normalizing deepfakes, especially when he has called them dangerous on previous occasions.
It makes one wonder if the stunt could somehow backfire, with a potential surge in deepfakes now possible – especially as it's hugely in the public eye, with just short of 300,000 likes on Instagram at the time of writing.
Proponents may see it as a harmless bit of PR, but could the video inspire influencers to craft a glut of their own rip-off fakes? There’ll come a time when an ‘either-way’ video will emerge when a major figure gets caught in the crosshairs – ask Volodymyr Zelensky.
Despite France’s pledge of €109 billion to the cause of AI, it remains to be seen whether the EU has the poise and leadership to control the conversation around AI – especially when the US and China are currently streets ahead and have established infrastructure already.
What is certain is that it’s a bold move from the French president, taking a starkly different approach from Keir Starmer’s ‘AI can help fix potholes in the road perhaps playing it a bit too safe. Is something more relatable too much to ask?
As people in suits gathered in Paris to discuss predictable themes at the summit, will Macron’s stunt be remembered as a visionary PR move – or just another internet gimmick?
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