As AI grows in popularity and accuracy, the ability to detect what is real and what is fake becomes increasingly difficult.
A local restaurant owner finds himself at the center of a controversy over a video he never made.
It’s been a series of restless nights this week for Ulises Robles, owner of Rio Bravo Mexican Restaurant.
“I couldn’t sleep the last two nights. I kept thinking why people were trying to do this to me,” Robles said.
Three days ago, his cell phone started ringing incessantly with videos people told him he should watch.
“Some of my friends have sent it to me, some of my employees have sent it to me, and a lot of people have sent it to me,” he said.
The man in the TikTok video claims to be the owner of Rio Bravo. The man was also seen giving free food to people who appeared to be ICE agents. It said it was done to show support.
However, the video was generated by AI. He said it wasn’t Robles and that what was portrayed in the video never happened.
“I was kind of pissed off, like, ‘Why are people spending their time on this?'” he said.
Some damage was caused as several people believed the video was real.
“My business is based in the Hispanic community, so naturally if they saw that video, they would be afraid to come into my business,” Robles said. “People are afraid to go out, especially now, because they don’t know what’s true and what’s false.”
Longtime customer Jaune Vasquez saw the video and wanted to see for himself what was true.
“My only thing was to come here and see what’s really going on, because I come here many times and I don’t think this is happening here,” Vazquez said.
Internet marketing and technology expert Enrique Lara said the popularity of AI will only continue to grow.
“You can notice it now. You might not notice it in a few months because artificial intelligence is growing rapidly and eventually you won’t notice it,” Lara said.
In addition to spotting the tell-tale signs, vigilance and education are also important, Lara said, adding, “With artificial intelligence, it’s usually two or three movements: one, two, one, three, one, two.”
Robles felt the only relief was to provide free meals to anyone who walked through the door Thursday.
“A lot of people know me,” Robles said. “I have nothing to do with any of that. I’m part of the Hispanic community. I’m an immigrant.”
As for the video, he doesn’t know why his business was targeted, but he just wants to speak out and fight back.
