4 ms·

Investigating AI Manipulation in Viral Chinese Paraglider Video

70 points by hyperknot 1y ago

tartoran 1y ago
I guess we'll have to take everything with a grain of salt from now on as any evidence can be faked with AI. I'm likely naive since I don't understand what the point of faking this was. Clout chasing? Monetizing this somehow?
- latchkey 1y ago
  In this case, "cloud chasing".
- ribfeast 1y ago
  Can be to validate the technology before using it for something more nefarious.
  - Molitor5901 1y ago
    I think it's validation. Consider if you were wanting to perfect AI to be very hard to distinguish, what better way than to crowd source it by putting on social media? The fear is when it's perfect and someone puts you in the middle of a very illegal situation; prove it wasn't you.
    - dingnuts 1y ago
      > The fear is when it's perfect and someone puts you in the middle of a very illegal situation; prove it wasn't you. At least in the US, while the law is followed, this is not legal, the State will have to prove it wasn't AI. They're required to assume it's not you, and prove that it is. The system is flawed of course and I'm not saying it always plays out like this in the real world, but the more we remember and repeat the laws they are supposed to follow, I think anyway, the greater chance we can hold those in power to the laws to which they are supposed to be held
  - butlike 1y ago
    Yup. Defining the overton window for emerging technologies
- manishsharan 1y ago
  Imagine capturing a crime on camera. And then having the court toss this as inadmissible evidence. Fun times ahead !
- hn_throwaway_99 1y ago
  The article surmises it could have been created by a hand-warming mittens company.
- Braxton1980 1y ago
  Ecree means most things can be accepted
- psygn89 1y ago
  Yeah, I think I read recently that they were going to release video proof that Epstein offed himself. The cynical part of me was thinking how convenient the timing was with how awesome video AI has become, and saddened that in general I can't really take video as proof anymore.
mrtksn 1y ago
I used to do paragliding and to me the video looks like low effort green screen more than AI. The colons don't behave like that when flying because you have a tension exactly as much as your weight and it will vibrate and jiggle as it is rare to have perfect laminar flow especially over land(it gets more stable at hight altitudes but not that stable). Also, you are supposed to have 30 to 60 kph wind blowing at you all the time because that's how you stay airborn which means the handles and all kind of fiber and attachments will constantly move. We were told stories about people who actually went to that altitude after being sucked by a cumulonimbus cloud and survived, so it's probably not impossible but this video screams fake at the second you look at it. I'm surprised anybody bought it and I will be very surprised if it turns to be real. I find the one with the donkey much more convincing. At least it has some wind and tension: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xqWN3h32wrA https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xqWN3h32wrA
- marcellus23 1y ago
  Yeah, watching that first video, a million things should stand out to anyone, even if they're not a paraglider. It's really hard to believe any part of this video is real.
- ge96 1y ago
  where are his legs!
- mzs 1y ago
  Even in the short, shouldn't there be vapor visible from breathe?
- rpcope1 1y ago
  Sort of related, but that video feels like it might be kind of cruel to the donkey. It's hard to believe that it really enjoys flying like that (but then again maybe who knows).
  - qingcharles 1y ago
    This isn't true. I know donkeys who do this professionally and they rave about their air time.
jonplackett 1y ago
Whatever the outcome of this specific case, we are clearly at a tipping point in history - it’s now basically impossible to say for certain if a fake video is real, and potentially even more problematic - also impossible to say for sure that a real video is not fake. The whole concept of ‘video evidence’ is going up in smoke.
- pimlottc 1y ago
  When it comes to actual court evidence, it’s just going to come back to chain of custody. What is the source of the video, how was it obtained, what hands did it go through before reaching the court, etc.
  - vouaobrasil 1y ago
    Easier said than done, though, especially when the sources themselves can be hacked and poeple can be bribed. When you make one step of a crime MUCH easier, finding evidence becomes much harder.
  - gman83 1y ago
    The 1992 book "Rising Sun" by Michael Crichton is basically about exactly this. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rising_Sun_(Crichton_novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rising_Sun_(Crichton_novel)
    - jonplackett 1y ago
      Oooh I haven’t read this and I usually love Crichton book.
  - jonplackett 1y ago
    As we can see here though - newspapers and court of public opinion aren’t all that thorough! I’m thinking back to various things like the videos of people being beaten up by the police, or that audio clip of trump talking about grabbing women. Would any of these things carry the same weight today? And how much weight will they have by the next election? Eve just being able to plausibly say ‘nah it’s just AI’ adds enough reasonable doubt that a lot of people will not believe it.
webdoodle 1y ago
AI has finally reached a point at which it can fake videos well enough that most people will believe it. Just in time for the fake Epstein suicide video! Epstein didn't kill himself, nor is he dead. He's living out his retirement on another pedo island, as a reward for a kompromate job well done.
- shigawire 1y ago
  Based on what? I get the conspiracy that he was killed by people with something to cover up. But what is the motivation for rewarding him? Unless you suppose he has a very compelling dead man's switch?
  - mattlondon 1y ago
    Not for a second that I believe the conspiracy, but he would be rewarded for taking the blame post-mortem so a lot of other rich people don't.
    - nullc 1y ago
      Epstein was just a con man, he wove a fog of mystery around himself as part of the con and people are still being duped by it to this day.
      - gosub100 1y ago
        Why was he photographed on his island wearing a cap that said "missed" ?
    - layer8 1y ago
      Much safer and easier to have him killed, though. (Not saying that he was, just that it seems the much more plausible theory than the reward one.)
  - gosub100 1y ago
    Based on the fact that the security cameras "weren't working" and the guards were "sleeping" at the moment he did it. When one of the highest profile criminals was in their unit. Bull crap.
radu_floricica 1y ago
We'll have to adapt to it, obviously, but I don't think it's all bad. AI can make non-real but really easy to understand video, so for something like a piece of news where you just take a peek and move on, it's actually pretty much perfect.
ge96 1y ago
I was on the side of it being fake because the part where he's frozen the background is frozen/air around him seems to be barely moving. The background I can get that it's so far away doesn't look like it's moving. The other thing is the altitude is so high/can't breath but yeah.
zokolatte 1y ago
[flagged]
mediumsmart 1y ago
[flagged]
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
reactordev 1y ago
Let’s not rule out virtual production techniques as that first scene of him frozen is clearly a set.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
1024core 1y ago
This seems like the first video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QMLSLQYMPI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QMLSLQYMPI
- mzs 1y ago
  They sell the blue screen setup as well: https://www.yowfly.com/product/paragliding-harness-simulator/ https://www.yowfly.com/product/paragliding-harness-simulator...
butlike 1y ago
He looks like Jack Nicholson from the end of The Shining...
hyperknot 1y ago
Update: news sites have pulled the video now, confirming parts of it were AI generated. https://deadline.com/2025/05/nbc-viral-chinese-paraglider-video-concerns-ai-generated-1236414202/ https://deadline.com/2025/05/nbc-viral-chinese-paraglider-vi...

70 points by hyperknot 1y ago

I guess we'll have to take everything with a grain of salt from now on as any evidence can be faked with AI. I'm likely naive since I don't understand what the point of faking this was. Clout chasing? Monetizing this somehow?

latchkey 1y ago
In this case, "cloud chasing".
ribfeast 1y ago
Can be to validate the technology before using it for something more nefarious.
- Molitor5901 1y ago
  I think it's validation. Consider if you were wanting to perfect AI to be very hard to distinguish, what better way than to crowd source it by putting on social media? The fear is when it's perfect and someone puts you in the middle of a very illegal situation; prove it wasn't you.
  - dingnuts 1y ago
    > The fear is when it's perfect and someone puts you in the middle of a very illegal situation; prove it wasn't you. At least in the US, while the law is followed, this is not legal, the State will have to prove it wasn't AI. They're required to assume it's not you, and prove that it is. The system is flawed of course and I'm not saying it always plays out like this in the real world, but the more we remember and repeat the laws they are supposed to follow, I think anyway, the greater chance we can hold those in power to the laws to which they are supposed to be held
- butlike 1y ago
  Yup. Defining the overton window for emerging technologies
manishsharan 1y ago
Imagine capturing a crime on camera. And then having the court toss this as inadmissible evidence. Fun times ahead !
hn_throwaway_99 1y ago
The article surmises it could have been created by a hand-warming mittens company.
Braxton1980 1y ago
Ecree means most things can be accepted
psygn89 1y ago
Yeah, I think I read recently that they were going to release video proof that Epstein offed himself. The cynical part of me was thinking how convenient the timing was with how awesome video AI has become, and saddened that in general I can't really take video as proof anymore.

mrtksn 1y ago

I used to do paragliding and to me the video looks like low effort green screen more than AI. The colons don't behave like that when flying because you have a tension exactly as much as your weight and it will vibrate and jiggle as it is rare to have perfect laminar flow especially over land(it gets more stable at hight altitudes but not that stable). Also, you are supposed to have 30 to 60 kph wind blowing at you all the time because that's how you stay airborn which means the handles and all kind of fiber and attachments will constantly move. We were told stories about people who actually went to that altitude after being sucked by a cumulonimbus cloud and survived, so it's probably not impossible but this video screams fake at the second you look at it. I'm surprised anybody bought it and I will be very surprised if it turns to be real. I find the one with the donkey much more convincing. At least it has some wind and tension: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xqWN3h32wrA https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xqWN3h32wrA

marcellus23 1y ago
Yeah, watching that first video, a million things should stand out to anyone, even if they're not a paraglider. It's really hard to believe any part of this video is real.
ge96 1y ago
where are his legs!
mzs 1y ago
Even in the short, shouldn't there be vapor visible from breathe?
rpcope1 1y ago
Sort of related, but that video feels like it might be kind of cruel to the donkey. It's hard to believe that it really enjoys flying like that (but then again maybe who knows).
- qingcharles 1y ago
  This isn't true. I know donkeys who do this professionally and they rave about their air time.

jonplackett 1y ago

Whatever the outcome of this specific case, we are clearly at a tipping point in history - it’s now basically impossible to say for certain if a fake video is real, and potentially even more problematic - also impossible to say for sure that a real video is not fake. The whole concept of ‘video evidence’ is going up in smoke.

pimlottc 1y ago
When it comes to actual court evidence, it’s just going to come back to chain of custody. What is the source of the video, how was it obtained, what hands did it go through before reaching the court, etc.
- vouaobrasil 1y ago
  Easier said than done, though, especially when the sources themselves can be hacked and poeple can be bribed. When you make one step of a crime MUCH easier, finding evidence becomes much harder.
- gman83 1y ago
  The 1992 book "Rising Sun" by Michael Crichton is basically about exactly this. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rising_Sun_(Crichton_novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rising_Sun_(Crichton_novel)
  - jonplackett 1y ago
    Oooh I haven’t read this and I usually love Crichton book.
- jonplackett 1y ago
  As we can see here though - newspapers and court of public opinion aren’t all that thorough! I’m thinking back to various things like the videos of people being beaten up by the police, or that audio clip of trump talking about grabbing women. Would any of these things carry the same weight today? And how much weight will they have by the next election? Eve just being able to plausibly say ‘nah it’s just AI’ adds enough reasonable doubt that a lot of people will not believe it.

webdoodle 1y ago

AI has finally reached a point at which it can fake videos well enough that most people will believe it. Just in time for the fake Epstein suicide video! Epstein didn't kill himself, nor is he dead. He's living out his retirement on another pedo island, as a reward for a kompromate job well done.

shigawire 1y ago
Based on what? I get the conspiracy that he was killed by people with something to cover up. But what is the motivation for rewarding him? Unless you suppose he has a very compelling dead man's switch?
- mattlondon 1y ago
  Not for a second that I believe the conspiracy, but he would be rewarded for taking the blame post-mortem so a lot of other rich people don't.
  - nullc 1y ago
    Epstein was just a con man, he wove a fog of mystery around himself as part of the con and people are still being duped by it to this day.
    - gosub100 1y ago
      Why was he photographed on his island wearing a cap that said "missed" ?
  - layer8 1y ago
    Much safer and easier to have him killed, though. (Not saying that he was, just that it seems the much more plausible theory than the reward one.)
- gosub100 1y ago
  Based on the fact that the security cameras "weren't working" and the guards were "sleeping" at the moment he did it. When one of the highest profile criminals was in their unit. Bull crap.

radu_floricica 1y ago

We'll have to adapt to it, obviously, but I don't think it's all bad. AI can make non-real but really easy to understand video, so for something like a piece of news where you just take a peek and move on, it's actually pretty much perfect.

ge96 1y ago

I was on the side of it being fake because the part where he's frozen the background is frozen/air around him seems to be barely moving. The background I can get that it's so far away doesn't look like it's moving. The other thing is the altitude is so high/can't breath but yeah.

zokolatte 1y ago

[flagged]

mediumsmart 1y ago

[flagged]

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]

reactordev 1y ago

Let’s not rule out virtual production techniques as that first scene of him frozen is clearly a set.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]

1024core 1y ago

This seems like the first video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QMLSLQYMPI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QMLSLQYMPI

mzs 1y ago
They sell the blue screen setup as well: https://www.yowfly.com/product/paragliding-harness-simulator/ https://www.yowfly.com/product/paragliding-harness-simulator...

butlike 1y ago

He looks like Jack Nicholson from the end of The Shining...

hyperknot 1y ago

Update: news sites have pulled the video now, confirming parts of it were AI generated. https://deadline.com/2025/05/nbc-viral-chinese-paraglider-video-concerns-ai-generated-1236414202/ https://deadline.com/2025/05/nbc-viral-chinese-paraglider-vi...