Neil DeGrasse Tyson hits back at deepfake videos of him that even tricked his friends

Neil DeGrasse Tyson has hit back at fake videos of his likeness, which have spread some wild scientific theories that he doesn’t actually believe in. 

Artificial intelligence, AI, has become a big part of everyday life for a lot of people. For some, it has started playing a role every day at their job, while others can’t scroll on social media without seeing some sort of AI-generated content. 

It’s the latter side of that which has prompted trouble for a lot of people, especially celebrities. Deepfake videos have gotten so realistic that it can be hard to tell what’s actually fak and whats real.

In Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s case, the astrophysicist has been attributed to a number of theories – including the flat earth theory – because of such videos. “That’s not me,” he stated in his October 30 video on StarTalk. 

Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s friends even got tricked by fake videos

“I’m flattered that people want to put me into content in a way that attracts audiences. I’m seriously flattered by that. However, it’s a deepfake. If its fooling people and people are not thinking ‘oh this is a parody, this is just a fun excursion’ then it’s transgressive to the integrity we’ve worked so hard to build,” he said. “Something has got to be done about that.”

The astrophysicist added that AI videos can be “fine” when they’re “obvious” parodies, and he enjoyed the babyfied trend of himself. However, when they cross over into the real thing, he’s not a fan. 

“When you do this and the viewer does not know it’s parody, then you’re crossing a line,” DeGrasse Tyson noted.

The 67-year-old added that his friend, actor Terry Crews, even fell for one such video, prompting DeGrasse Tyson to shut it down. 

“You will not see my hawking products, not soft drinks, not sneakers. I don’t care, it doesn’t matter what it is that’s out there. If you do (see it), its not simply, chances are it’s a deep fake, it is a deep fake! Pure and simple,” he said. 

DeGrasse Tyson also noted that he doesn’t instruct viewers to do anything, outside of his ‘keep looking up’ mantra, so instructions are another telltale sign of a fake video.