Shaquille O’Neal does not appreciate people sharing AI-generated photos featuring him.
In a post shared on Meta’s Threads platform, a woman going by the name of Ivy Vale—who may or may not be an AI-generated avatar—shared a pair of photos that appeared to show her sitting courtside at an NBA game with a clean-shaven Shaq. Of course, the photo featured several tell-tale signs of generative artificial intelligence technology, including digitally garbled faces in the background of the crowd, which also appeared to change size between the two photos.
Shaq noticed the pictures and shared a hilarious pair of responses.
“Uh no u didn’t,” he wrote in one of his responses.
“Shaq has a beard dummy,” he wrote in the second response.
Digging a little deeper into Vale’s profile, it’s hard not to notice a trend of AI-generated imagery on her Threads account. She also posted a picture that appeared to show her as a child with LeBron James, so it’s evident that she’s prone to a form of engagement bait or genuinely wants their followers to think she’s actually meeting with all this NBA royalty.
There’s been a growing sentiment against generative AI going around as of late, especially as the technology has improved. While certain content makes it easier to spot, at a glance, some of the results have fooled plenty of people. For example, Mia Khalifa recently felt the need to shut down a rumor that she was dating Mr. Bean actor Rowan Atkinson, after a series of posts shared by parody accounts showed her enjoying a holiday with the 71-year-old comedian.
Last month, over 700 artists, writers, and creators backed a campaign accusing major tech companies of exploiting copyrighted material without permission. The campaign, titled “Stealing Isn’t Innovation,” represents creatives protesting big tech’s “illegal mass harvesting of copyright works to build and power their Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) platforms.” Notable supporters include Scarlett Johansson, Cate Blanchett, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jennifer Hudson, Common, Questlove, Black Thought, Chaka Khan, and Jill Scott.