Yahoo News Putin Responds to Body-Double Rumors: There’s Just One Me!
Russia’s Vladimir Putin spoke to a younger-looking deep fake of himself Thursday to reassure the world there’s only one of him. Speaking at his annual call-in show, the Russian leader was connected via video link to a “student of St. Petersburg University” who appeared on screen using Putin’s voice and likeness to inquire about the risks of artificial intelligence. In a stunt that was clearly pre-planned, Putin responded: “I see you may resemble me and speak with my voice. But I have thought about it and decided that only one person must be like me and speak with my voice, and that will be me.” He said the deep fake version of him on the screen is his “first body double.” The comment was in response to rumors that have run rampant on social media for months about the Russian president using a team of body doubles to avoid having to attend public events himself.
