A photo of the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis decked out in a white puffer coat has been going viral on social media, sending shock waves through the online community and causing confusion and surprise. The photorealistic image depicting the Pontiff in a large winter coat featuring a steel cross is an AI-generated photo from Midjourney, an artificial intelligence app that can generate deceptively realistic photos.
The image of the Pope looking ‘dope’ sent a wave of reaction from celebrities and influencers, sending many into a flurry of confusion. Chrissy Teigen tweeted “I thought the Pope’s puffer jacket was real and didn’t give it a second thought. No way am I surviving the future of technology.” Far-right commentator and conspiracy wonk Ian Miles Cheong had a different take and wrote “The Pope is a fashion icon. Respect the drip”, using hip-hop slang for “stylish”.
Midjourney is a tech company that specializes in using millions of images scraped from the internet in order to create realistic-looking photos and fantastical artworks. This is not the first time Midjourney’s creations have caused a stir, the company was responsible for creating the AI-generated photo of former US president Donald Trump being arrested by a posse of New York policemen.
While many reveled in the AI-generated Pope photo, it has sparked copyright debate. Getty Images, a distributor of stock and archive photos, has since filed suit on the company citing copyright violations.
Despite the controversy, the waves that the photo made demonstrates the present and growing potential of artificial intelligence technology in the fasion industry. AI image generators like that of Midjourney are creating innovative product for fashion consumers, and is sure to be a cornerstone of the industry in the future.
