For the discharge of her twelfth album, “The Lifetime of a Showgirl,” Taylor Swift despatched followers on an internet scavenger hunt this weekend, which started by looking for “Taylor Swift” on Google. However as followers unveiled secret movies as a part of the marketing campaign, some fretted that the clips seemed like they have been AI-generated — they usually weren’t happy.
A Google seek for the singer’s title yields a cryptic message: “12 cities, 12 doorways, 1 video to unlock.”
Followers had to determine the placement of the doorways, then bodily discover them and scan a QR code, which surfaced 12 distinctive movies that contained the clues wanted to resolve the puzzle. When followers Googled the proper phrase, one other orange door appeared, which followers needed to collectively “knock” on by clicking 12 million occasions. Lastly, the door “opened,” revealing a lyric video for “The Destiny of Ophelia,” which has its personal orange door progress bar on YouTube.
YouTube had scored the video unique for the observe, in addition to the lyric movies from the remaining songs on the brand new album.
Google initially introduced the scavenger hunt in a video on Instagram. The video begins with an aerial view of Earth, then rapidly zooms in on a hilly, bejeweled panorama, till we see an orange door, overlayed with a Google search bar.
Whereas Swifties love a puzzle, some have been rubbed the mistaken method by the 12 clue-containing movies, which AI-generated.
As a substitute of looking for clues to unveil Swift’s new lyric video, as Swift supposed, some followers started to scour the video clips like detectives, searching for indicators that the scenes have been artificial. Nevertheless, whereas there are clips that look computer-generated, it’s unclear in the event that they have been made utilizing AI, and if that’s the case, to what extent.
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It will make sense if these movies have been generated utilizing Google’s AI merchandise. As OpenAI exhibits off its new Sora 2 video generator, this Taylor Swift collaboration can be a serendipitous alternative for Google to point out hundreds of thousands of Swifties what its Veo 3 mannequin can do.
Google didn’t reply to TechCrunch’s request for touch upon how these movies have been generated or if Swift and Google labored collectively on this activation through the use of Google’s personal AI expertise. However Swift’s group and Google have teamed up for comparable promotional actions prior to now, we should always be aware.
The usage of AI in artistic works is a delicate topic. Some artists suppose these instruments may also help them, whereas others have protested the way by which massive language fashions are skilled on their work with out consent, successfully utilizing artists’ personal work to create the expertise that would threaten their livelihoods.
Even Swift herself spoke out concerning the risks of AI after President Donald Trump shared an AI-generated picture of her exhibiting help for his marketing campaign final yr; the incident spurred her to submit an endorsement for former Vice President Kamala Harris, who ran towards Trump in 2024.
“Just lately I used to be made conscious that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his web site. It actually conjured up my fears round AI, and the risks of spreading misinformation. It introduced me to the conclusion that I have to be very clear about my precise plans for this election as a voter,” she wrote on Instagram on the time.
The controversy round Swift’s potential use of AI is amplified given her personal stature within the music business.
Whereas AI might enchantment to some artists as a solution to reduce prices, the billionaire musician has each potential useful resource at her disposal to deliver the fantastical scenes from her promotional movies to life.
