AI or Not, Will Smith’s Festival Video is Just Cringe-worthy

Will Smith recently posted a video on social media that features a sea of excited fans enthusiastically cheering for him during his latest European tour.

“Meeting all of you face-to-face has been the highlight of this tour,” the caption states. “I appreciate you all for taking the time to see me as well.”

In these large crowds, many fans are holding signs that convey their admiration for Smith, with one heartfelt message noting how his music helped them through their fight with cancer.

However, there’s something odd about the video—it seems authentically real at first, but upon closer inspection, it features digitally distorted faces, bizarre finger positions, and strangely altered attributes across the footage.

These peculiarities have led some fans to suggest that the crowd scenes were generated by AI. This is concerning for Smith, who has already faced reputational challenges following “the slap.” If it turns out he is using AI to create an illusion of larger concerts or fabricating stories about fans utilizing his music to cope with cancer, it would be indefensible.

Nevertheless, the fans in the video seem authentic—or at least that’s our best assessment. (Distinguishing between AI-generated content and genuine material is complicated, making the current online environment a minefield of misinformation.)

As tech commentator Andy Baio observed, Smith has posted various photos and videos throughout his tour that feature the same fans and signs found in the controversial video.

There is no evidence in these prior posts suggesting that the photos and videos are artificial; however, the new video does appear to be AI-generated. It appears Smith’s team has combined authentic footage with AI-created clips, increasing the video’s ambiguity.

However, social media users are unlikely to take the time to browse through Will Smith’s previous posts to find proof that a fan genuinely found comfort in his music during their cancer journey. What many will take away from this is the perception that Smith may be sharing fake crowd videos, which can appear quite cringeworthy, even if the truth is less severe.

The timing couldn’t be worse for Smith, as YouTube has recently begun testing a feature aimed at improving the clarity of Shorts posts, making his YouTube short feel even more artificial in comparison to those on other platforms.

YouTube’s creator liaison, Rene Ritchie, has since indicated that the platform will soon allow creators to opt out of this feature, which has not been well-received thus far.

One could argue that Will Smith hasn’t misled his audience—his team simply used AI to create engaging visuals from real photographs for a more captivating social media post, akin to various video editing techniques.

Nonetheless, fans don’t seem to share this viewpoint. The audience tends to be more wary of generative AI technologies than traditional creative tools like autotune or Photoshop. Even in those cases, many fans feel uneasy about artists who employ these tools in ways seen as disingenuous.

If a fan buys a ticket to see a pop star perform live, only to discover later that the artist’s appealing voice is solely due to autotune, they may feel deceived. It’s similar to presenting a model for a skincare advertisement, only to digitally mask her blemishes.

Once an artist loses their audience’s trust, it can be incredibly difficult to regain—even for someone as beloved as the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.