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Malaysia couple travel hours to tour site after watching AI-created video, unaware it’s unreal

Credulous elderly pair convinced by non-existent TV journalist that scenic cable car attraction is real, refuse to believe the truth on arrival at ‘resort’

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An elderly Malaysian couple drove for hours to find a tour site after watching an artificial intelligence-generated video, unaware that the whole thing was fictional. Photo: SCMP composite/Facebook@Nurul Afzarina Mokhtar
Fran Luin Beijing

A Malaysian couple travelled for three hours from Kuala Lumpur to the country’s state of Perak to visit a tourist spot that exists only in an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated video.

On June 30, a member of staff at a hotel in Perak state posted on social media that an elderly couple checked in and asked her about a scenic cable car that runs locally.

The staff member who uses the name @dyaaaaaaa._ said she thought they were joking and told them the cable car attraction did not exist. She told them there was nothing to see in the quiet town.

The artificial intelligence-generated “journalist” reports from her unreal broadcast van. Photo: Facebook/Nurul Afzarina Mokhtar
The artificial intelligence-generated “journalist” reports from her unreal broadcast van. Photo: Facebook/Nurul Afzarina Mokhtar

Apparently, the couple did not believe her and said they saw a video online that features a television host experiencing the service herself and interviewing people about their journeys.

The woman staff member explained that what they saw was an AI-generated video.

The video, which has now been taken down reportedly due to the controversy and reports from users, shows a glamorous female host with a channel called “TV Rakyat” reporting about the fun tram ride, Kuak Skyride, located in the town of Kuak Hulu in Perak.

The host takes the ride and enjoys the forests and mountains.

The “journalist” delivers an artificial intelligence-generated report from among the fake crowds of “visitors”. Photo: Facebook/Nurul Afzarina Mokhtar
The “journalist” delivers an artificial intelligence-generated report from among the fake crowds of “visitors”. Photo: Facebook/Nurul Afzarina Mokhtar
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