They were hooked!
Recently, images of a wild monkey spotted in New Jersey took the internet by storm, leading to a swift police response, but officials now believe it may have all been an AI-generated prank.
Newark’s Public Safety Director, Emanuel Miranda, shared that a frantic search occurred Thursday morning after a fabricated photo showing numerous monkeys running loose in Newark’s Georgia King Village spurred alarmed calls to law enforcement. Reports indicate that the hoax was circulated widely on social media.
One particular photo even depicted two monkeys scavenging through a trash can.
Miranda noted that officers thoroughly checked the area and the building but found no trace of any monkeys.
“We haven’t found any monkeys,” he mentioned, adding that animal control received similar misleading reports the previous day.
“The images and videos floating around online seem to have been created using AI.”
The investigation into this false alarm continues, but police have already labeled the occurrence as a “hoax.”
Harriet Guity, who works nearby, mentioned she got a call from a concerned coworker urging her to “stay alert” because of these digital fakes.
“We should utilize AI for beneficial purposes, not for this sort of thing,” she expressed.
“When a real situation arises, officers might take longer to respond if they’re dealing with AI-generated nonsense.”
Local resident Richard Chapman commented that such pranks not only waste police time but resources as well.
“Having officers respond to something that’s not real is pointless when they could be occupied with real issues,” he remarked.
The incident coincides with rising concerns about a TikTok trend known as the “AI Homeless Man Prank,” where individuals create images of supposed homeless people and report them to authorities, contributing to a growing awareness of misuse of AI technologies.
