Photos of Pope Francis wearing a stylish, white puffy coat took over the internet last weekend. But, after the initial bewildered reactions over the apparent fashion sense the leader of the Catholic Church had suddenly revealed, internet users were hit with a twist: The images were generated by artificial intelligence.
Pablo Xavier, 31, a utility worker and longtime Chicagoan, told the Tribune he had been high on mushrooms Friday when he began playing around with Midjourney, an AI art tool. In a flash, inspiration struck as he typed his prompts: Catholic Pope Francis. Balenciaga puffy coat. Streets of Paris.
“As I put in the prompt, and (the image) popped up, I was just like, ‘Yeah, this is it,’” he said.
The Humboldt Park resident has taken up painting and AI art as a therapeutic hobby, he said, so he wasn’t expecting the images to blow up. Pablo grew up in a Catholic family, but said he doesn’t consider himself religious. Still, he notes, he didn’t intend to offend anyone with his art.
“I expected a little backlash,” said Pablo, who asked that his last name not be used due to concerns for his own safety. “I understand why they’re mad. But, I mean, I was just doing it to be funny.”
Pablo said he posted the images to a Facebook group and a few Reddit forums where people share AI-generated art, so he didn’t have the intention of fooling people into thinking the pope images were real. He said he was banned from Reddit shortly after his post went up.
He started dabbling in AI art after his 29-year-old brother died in October. As he grieved, Pablo found solace in creating images with his brother’s face, “making older versions of him, versions that I wouldn’t ever see.”
“I’ve been hooked ever since,” he added.
The internet virality of the AI images of the pope has only underscored the power — and dangers — of AI misinformation. Just days earlier, AI-generated fake images of former President Donald Trump being arrested by police in New York City spread across social media following news of his possible indictment for paying hush money to women who alleged sexual encounters with him.
“I don’t think AI will get regulated as far as art styles, but I definitely think it probably will get regulated as far as using public figures,” Pablo said. He pointed out the fact that AI can also be used to digitally alter audio and video to create deepfakes of people’s voices and bodies. “It just opens up so many doors.”
On Wednesday, just a few days after the Pope’s images went viral, the 86-year-old pontiff made news again: He was hospitalized for a respiratory infection, though his condition was “progressively improving” as of Thursday morning.
“I hope he’s OK,” Pablo said. “Even if I’m not religious, whether we have differences, no one should wish ill will on anybody.”
