Will Smith responds to backlash for AI-generated concert video - with new clip featuring AI cats

Will Smith has been at the centre of much online ridicule over some AI generated images of his tour. 

Ahead of the UK leg of his tour, promoting his first studio album in 20 years, ‘Based On A True Story’, a video was shared from his official YouTube channel and Instagram, titled: “My favourite part of tour is seeing you all up close. Thank you for seeing me too.” 

The clip gained attention for all the wrong reasons, as many claimed it makes heavy use of AI – specifically faked footage of his fans and their homemade signs. Faces appeared blurred or melting, while body parts were impossibly distorted.  

Smith was accused of falsifying the crowds and by extension the hype surrounding his comeback tour.   

“Imagine being this rich and famous and having to use AI footage of crowds… Tragic, man,” commented someone online, while another wrote below his video: “So not only is this an abomination to look at because it’s low quality phone footage that’s been heavily AI upscaled, but there’s also in-between scenes that are clearly AI-generated.”  

Now, Smith has clapped back by... posting another AI-generated video. 

This time, the clip pokes fun at the people who complained about the fake-looking audience, swapping out human heads for cat heads. 

Check out the clip below.

Smith has yet to formally address the accusations of digitally altering the concert video with AI. And while the cat face video is a cute response, it remains oblivious to the ongoing controversies facing the music industry.  

A recent study estimated that without intervention from policymakers, people working in music are likely to lose more than 20 per cent of their income to AI over the next four years. Deezer also reported that roughly 10,000 AI-generated tracks are submitted to the platform on a daily basis, while AI developers in the music industry are set to gain €4bn - up from €0.1bn in 2023. 

These figures come from the first global economic study examining the impact of AI on human creativity, courtesy of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC). 

Many artists are struggling to find fair remuneration in this new digital ecosystem, and have been speaking out against the existential threat AI poses. 

From Nick Cave to Paul McCartney, via Elton John, Radiohead, Dua Lipa, Kate Bush and Robbie Williams – all have called on the UK government to change copyright laws amid the threat of AI. 

The less said about ear-assaulting slop of the AI-generated Spotify “Verified Artist” The Velvet Sundown, the better.