To celebrate the release of her twelfth album **"The Life of a Showgirl,"** pop superstar Taylor Swift partnered with Google this weekend to organize a large-scale online treasure hunt for fans around the world. However, as secret videos used to unlock clues were revealed, some fans (Swifties) began questioning whether these clips looked like they were generated by artificial intelligence (AI), sparking strong dissatisfaction in the sensitive context of AI technology's use in creative works.
This treasure hunt was initially announced by Google on Instagram. The process began when fans searched "Taylor Swift" on Google and received a mysterious message: "12 cities, 12 doors, one video needs to be unlocked." Fans had to locate and scan QR codes hidden in 12 cities to obtain 12 unique video clues. Finally, fans needed to collectively search for the correct phrase on Google, "knocking" on an orange door 12 million times, to unlock a video revealing the lyrics of the album song "Ophelia's Fate," which was exclusively released on YouTube and simultaneously published the lyric videos of the rest of the album's songs.
Although Swifties are enthusiastic about solving puzzles, the 12 videos containing the clues became the focus of controversy. Fans did not fully focus on solving the puzzles but instead became "detectives," carefully examining the video clips for signs of scene compositing and unnatural movements. Although some of the videos did have a computer-generated (CG) look, it is currently unclear whether AI was used and to what extent AI was involved.
Given the special nature of this collaboration, if these videos were generated by Google's artificial intelligence products, it would make sense. With OpenAI demonstrating its Sora2 video generators, this collaboration with Taylor Swift presented Google with an excellent opportunity to showcase the power of models such as Veo3 to millions of Swifties. Although TechCrunch has contacted Google for comments regarding how these videos were created and whether Google's AI technology was used, no response has been received yet.
This controversy is further intensified by Taylor Swift's status. The use of AI in creative works is a sensitive topic at present, with many artists protesting that large language models are being used for training without permission, thus using artists' works to create technologies that could threaten their livelihoods. Last year, Swift herself publicly discussed the dangers of AI after an AI-fabricated image of her supporting Donald Trump's campaign was shared, prompting her to publicly support Kamala Harris.
Swift stated on Instagram at the time that the incident made her concerned about "the dangers of artificial intelligence and the spread of false information." As a billionaire musician, she has all the resources to turn fantastical scenes in promotional videos into reality. Therefore, fans and the industry generally believe that she had no need to use potentially controversial AI technology to cut costs, making the controversy surrounding her possible use of AI particularly sharp.
