AI in High Places

COMMENT. President Trump’s AI generated post of himself as the pope. The Trump administration has been using AI in border control, facial recognition, and as a political tool. Photo courtesy of the Honolulu Star.

Recently, Artificial Intelligence generated images have been posted on President Trump’s X (previously Twitter) account. These images are usually the President pictured as important or relevant figures such as The Pope, a jedi, and there’s even a picture of him receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, which he requested. What is AI, how does it work, and why is President Trump’s administration using it to generate images?

AI works by searching hundreds of resources and combining all the data into one answer. According to Microsoft, “Generative AI refers to a class of AI models, such as the GPT series or Llama, that analyzes large amounts of data and generates new content, including text, images, and code, that mirrors human expression—redefining our relationship to technology.”

AI use in a political setting is relatively new; during the previous election, voters and candidates alike had to think about whether or not what they were seeing was real. With deepfakes and generative AI becoming more and more realistic, it's hard to know whether images are AI generated or not. The President is not the only one using AI. According to the new government website dedicated to AI, the Department of Homeland Security, (DHS), is also using AI in border control and customs scanning luggage. Images of the bag scans are sent through an AI program designed to identify illegal items, so human TSA agents don’t have to. However, there is still a risk of errors. According the previously mentioned website, the DHS is also “using AI facial recognition technology to identify victims of SA”, this works by scanning small details in a person's face, such as any freckles, birthmarks or other marks, the spacing of their eyes, nose, and mouth, and the overall shape of their face.

“I think it's [AI] a tool, but any tool is just a tool, it depends on how you use it… It can be used in useful ways,” government teacher Jason Butler said.

One of the most controversial things the president has created with AI and posted was him, dressed up as a king dropping what seems to be raw sewage onto protesters below from a bomber plane with “King Trump” painted on the side. Many people have found this offensive, including the artist of the song used in the background of the video, Kenny Logins.

“The video was immature,” said a freshman student who would like to remain anonymous.

AI has been controversial since the beginning. This is just another layer to the sci-fi cake. AI is only becoming more and more advanced, but are we prepared? There are many ways to tell whether or not something is AI, but it's getting harder. Uncanny hands, impossible scenarios, no imperfections, slight blurring, or strange textures can all be ways to identify AI images.