<p>A fake image of an explosion at the Pentagon briefly went viral and caused a ten-minute-long dip in the markets on Monday, stoking further talk that generative AI could cause problems to society.</p>.<p>The image, which many observers suspected came from artificial intelligence, was spread by several accounts, forcing the Pentagon to comment that there was no such explosion.</p>.<p>"We can confirm this was a false report and the Pentagon was not attacked today," a spokesman said.</p>.<p>The Arlington, Virginia fire department also reacted, posting on social media that there was no explosion or incident taking place at or near the Pentagon.</p>.<p>The incident followed other occurrences of fake imagery that also created a buzz recently on the internet, including former US president Donald Trump getting arrested and Pope Francis in a puffer jacket.</p>.<p>The earliest tweet found by <em>AFP </em>sharing the Pentagon image came from a QAnon-promoting account that has previously shared disinformation, though the original source of the image was not known.</p>.<p>Emerging generative AI technologies make it easier for non-specialists to create convincing images in just a few moments, instead of needing the expertise to use programs such as Photoshop.</p>.<p>The shared image caused the markets to be knocked for a few minutes, with the S&P 500 stumbling by 0.29 per cent compared to its Friday close before recovering.</p>.<p>"There was a dip likely related to this fake news as the (trading) machines picked up on it, but I would submit that the scope of the decline did not match the seemingly bad nature of the fake news," said Pat O'Hare of Briefing.com.</p>
<p>A fake image of an explosion at the Pentagon briefly went viral and caused a ten-minute-long dip in the markets on Monday, stoking further talk that generative AI could cause problems to society.</p>.<p>The image, which many observers suspected came from artificial intelligence, was spread by several accounts, forcing the Pentagon to comment that there was no such explosion.</p>.<p>"We can confirm this was a false report and the Pentagon was not attacked today," a spokesman said.</p>.<p>The Arlington, Virginia fire department also reacted, posting on social media that there was no explosion or incident taking place at or near the Pentagon.</p>.<p>The incident followed other occurrences of fake imagery that also created a buzz recently on the internet, including former US president Donald Trump getting arrested and Pope Francis in a puffer jacket.</p>.<p>The earliest tweet found by <em>AFP </em>sharing the Pentagon image came from a QAnon-promoting account that has previously shared disinformation, though the original source of the image was not known.</p>.<p>Emerging generative AI technologies make it easier for non-specialists to create convincing images in just a few moments, instead of needing the expertise to use programs such as Photoshop.</p>.<p>The shared image caused the markets to be knocked for a few minutes, with the S&P 500 stumbling by 0.29 per cent compared to its Friday close before recovering.</p>.<p>"There was a dip likely related to this fake news as the (trading) machines picked up on it, but I would submit that the scope of the decline did not match the seemingly bad nature of the fake news," said Pat O'Hare of Briefing.com.</p>