When the five-membered girl group iii teased their debut back in November 2023, K-Pop fans expressed a great deal of confusion…
iii | @I_I_I_official/Twitter
…because of how “fake” the members looked. Most were convinced that the members’ faces had been AI-generated.
Upcoming Girl Group Gets Questioned For Looking “Too Fake”
As of two weeks ago, iii released their official music video for “Forbidden Midnight.”
And while the confusion had somewhat subsided at the time of the release of the MV, their “challenge” videos on YouTube Shorts have once again sparked AI rumors.
When members ViVi and Nicole shared their dance moves, K-Pop fans couldn’t help but notice the “filter-like” qualities on the members’ faces…
…and even alleged that at some parts of the videos, their “real faces” are visible.
The alleged filter coming off member ViVi’s face when she turns away from the camera. | theqoo The alleged filter glitching on member Nicole’s face. | theqoo The filter working above member Nicole’s gloved hand at one point. | theqoo
The screenshots, supposed to prove that iii is using deepfake to debut, have gone viral and while some reactions are of intrigue and support, most Koreans are not impressed—and largely against the idea of a deepfaked AI girl group.
| theqoo “This is deepfaked and it’s offensive.” “I guess blinking isn’t an option, huh?” “Terrified…” “Whoever’s making these videos failed to check all of the frames. Or perhaps the management is uploading them for the clout. Those who think this looks real enough… Go look up some actual deepfake videos. You’ll realize this is not real. Haha.” “WTF…” “This group keeps going viral for looking fake… I’m starting to think it’s a marketing scheme.” “Reminds me of Mad Monster.” “But who’s ACTUALLY confused, though…?” “This scares me… I noticed that the management came up with the members’ background stories and debut messages, to convince people that it’s not AI. And so, I feel like there should be regulations about disclosing the use of AI, whether it be for products or businesses.” | theqoo “But it’s so obviously AI… Trust me, the real AI out there are so much better than this these days.” “This is very much AI. I hate when AI-generated ‘humans’ try to act human. It’s offensive.” “I’m just not happy with the idea of slapping on new faces on the bodies that are doing the dancing. Like, human to human… It’s disrespectful to the dancers… So, no. I don’t want to see this.” “Pause the video between the frames and you’ll see the unfiltered faces before the AI-generated faces appear. I’m done hearing about this group. LOL.” “There’s no point in putting these videos up if their wish is to show off that they can work with AI. Because people will rip these apart, and the group will fail even before they can make a name for themselves.” “Well, I have to say… This is one of the more natural looking AI-generated videos.” “It looks natural because it’s not all AI. It’s only the face that has been swapped out. The moves are all coming from actual dancers, LOL. I don’t understand the purpose of this at all.”
Nothing has been confirmed; iii’s management, BIGOCEAN ENM, is yet to respond to the online suspicions toward the group members being AI.
Watch the members in another video shared to the official YouTube channel.
Filter or not? Check out the “evidence.”
