The misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) has grown commonplace in recent years, making technological advancements both a blessing and a curse for society. The newest victim of Deepfake technology is star Indian batsman Virat Kohli, whose phony voice is being used to advertise a betting app. Recently, a Virat Kohli-starrer video advertisement for an app that promises large returns on customers’ investments has gone viral on social media.
The scammers have even included a clip of a well-known TV channel journalist to the advertising to further lend it credibility, giving the impression that it is airing during a live news program. According to the advertising, in only three days, Virat Kohli invested just INR 1,000 and made INR 81,000.
Later on in the video, the con artists inserted a clip from the well-known interview that Virat Kohli had with Graham Bensinger.
They then overlaid a phony voice over Virat Kohli real voice and used technology to make him lip-synch to the phony message.
क्या ये सच में @anjanaomkashyap मैम और विराट कोहली हैं? या फिर यह AI का कमाल है?
अगर यह AI कमाल है तो बेहद खतरनाक है। इतना मिसयूज? अगर रियल है तो कोई बात ही नहीं। किसी को जानकारी हो तो बताएँ।@imVkohli pic.twitter.com/Q5RnDE3UPr
— Shubham Shukla (@ShubhamShuklaMP) February 18, 2024
Notably, for personal reasons, Kohli has withdrew from the current five-match Test series against England in cricket. Prior to the first Test on January 22, the top batter arrived at the Indian camp in Hyderabad, but he was forced to depart that same day for personal reasons.
India leads the Test series versus England 2-1.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India, or BCCI, granted Kohli permission to miss all five games out of respect for his privacy. The story was further complicated by the revelation on Kohli’s YouTube channel, made by his close buddy and former South Africa cricket player, that the famous cricket player is expecting his second child with Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma.
Ab De Villiers, however, later took responsibility for his remarks and expressed regret for circulating rumors. India has recovered from a 0-1 deficit in the five-match series to take a 2-1 lead with to back-to-back victories in Visakhapatnam and Rajkot while Kohli is out of the game. The fourth Test between the two teams will take place at Ranchi’s JSCA International Stadium Complex on Friday, February 23.
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