This week, the internet was sent into a frenzy by a leaked photograph of Pope Francis sporting an oversized puffer jacket. The image of the pontiff in his fashionable winter wear immediately circulated through platforms like Twitter and Instagram, giving the Pope a new nickname: the “Balenciaga Pope”. It was only after the spread of this stylish image that many realised that the photo was created by Midjourney, a popular AI photography app.
Midjourney creates hyperrealistic images based on various prompts, and in the case of the “Balenciaga Pope”, the image was based on a post shared on its subreddit. This image of Pope Francis in his swagged-out puffer was such a hit that it led to calls for the papal puffer to become a reality.
Midjourney is not the only AI photography app driving the internet crazy at the moment. Earlier this week, images of former President Donald Trump being “arrested” also went viral, although it was later revealed that these images were also computer-generated.
While AI photography apps like Midjourney offer a unique way to have some fun online, there’s still no substitute for the real thing. Although the pontiff’s puffer wasn’t quite ‘real’, it made the internet take a greater interest in the Pope and his progressive attitudes on Church dogma and lifestyle outside of the Vatican. This kind of publicity is the best any company, or figurehead, can hope for, and the ‘Pope Francis in puffer’ photograph is testament to the power and reach of AI photography.
