Police Issue Warning About “AI Homeless Man” Prank

This trend shows the prevalence of highly sophisticated generative AI tools, portending a future where you can’t even believe photos from friends and family. An example of this is the countless videos on social media that include young people bragging about how they have terrorized their parents or friends with the help of artificial intelligence.

“No, I don’t know him,” one disgruntled father messaged his son in a TikTok video that has racked up millions of views. “What does he want?”

“He said you went to school together, and I invited him,” the son replied, posting an AI-edited photo of what appears to be a man sitting on the family sofa.

“Joe picked up the phone,” the annoyed parent replied. “I don’t know him!!!!”

The prank has gained so much traction that law enforcement is now issuing warnings. NBC News Reports.

“Besides poor taste, there are many reasons why this prank is stupid and potentially dangerous,” the Salem, Massachusetts, Police Department wrote in a statement. “This prank dehumanizes homeless people, causes panic on the distressed recipient and wastes police resources.”

A press release from the Oak Harbor Police Department in Washington also warned of “safety concerns” related to the “AI homeless man prank.” Photos circulating made it appear that “a homeless person was present on the Oak Harbor High School campus.”

“AI tools can create highly convincing images, and misinformation can spread quickly, causing unnecessary fear or diverting public safety resources,” the statement read.

Some warn the prank could go beyond just a waste of police resources, too.

“We want to be clear: This behavior is not a joke — it is a crime,” the Brown County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Office wrote in a post. on Facebook, following a separate incident. “Both juveniles involved have been charged with criminal charges for their roles in these incidents.”

This is not limited to the United States only. British teenagers are also using AI tools to prank their parents or friends, according to BBCwarning local law enforcement to check whether distressing images are a prank before contacting police.

“As you know, pranks, even if they’re innocent, can have unintended consequences,” said Andy McKinney, chief of the police department in Round Rock, Texas. nbc. “And a lot of times young people don’t think about those untreated consequences and the families that it might impact, and maybe their neighbors, and so a real incident could happen with one of their neighbors, and they’re draining resources, thinking this is going to be fun.”

More about generative AI: People are using OpenAI’s Sora to mock the dead