[Sportschosun reporter Lee Ji-hyun] A controversial AI image depicting a situation different from reality has appeared online, using a photo of Lim YoonA, a member of Girls' Generation (SNSD) and an actress.
An image believed to have been manipulated using artificial intelligence (AI) to depict Lim YoonA has recently spread across online communities and social media.
The image showed Lim YoonA with a man. Her abdomen was portrayed as if it were enlarged, creating the impression that the two had taken a commemorative pregnancy photo together.
Overseas media outlets also covered the image in June and reported on the controversy. According to those reports, the image was created using AI to make it appear as though Lim YoonA were pregnant, while part of the accompanying man's face was not clearly visible. It was also reported that the person who uploaded the image directly tagged Lim YoonA's social media account in the post.
Lim YoonA did not actually take a photo with the man or announce that she was pregnant. Fans in particular expressed concern and criticism over the possibility that an AI-generated image depicting a situation different from reality could be consumed as if it were an authentic photograph.
As AI content using celebrities' faces and bodies to fabricate nonexistent private lives or relationships continues to emerge, critics have also warned that it could infringe on entertainers' likeness rights and reputations.
SM Entertainment, Lim YoonA's agency, has also maintained a hardline stance against malicious content targeting its artists.
SM Entertainment said that false information, defamation, sexual harassment, personal attacks and invasions of privacy targeting its artists have continued to spread on social media this year, and that it is pursuing legal action, including filing criminal complaints. The agency has also stated that it will secure evidence and respond in stages to acts of creating or distributing distorted content, including deepfakes, as well as malicious rumors and false information.
In July, the agency also referred to cases in which individuals attempted to evade legal responsibility by deleting posts or accounts or switching them to private, and announced that it would continue taking action based on the evidence already secured.
olzllovely@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
