Recently, former US President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video called "Trump Gaza" on his social platform Truth Social, which attracted widespread attention. Set in the Gaza Strip, the video depicts it as a luxurious vacation paradise similar to Dubai. In the video, the family walked out of the war-torn ruins and came to a high-rise beachfront resort, while Trump enjoyed a cocktail on a sun chair with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while tech giant Elon Musk tear up flat bread as snacks. This scene is full of irony and also triggers discussions about the application of AI technology.
The creator of this video is Solo Avital, a filmmaker from Los Angeles. He said the video was a political satire of Trump’s so-called “Gaza Real Estate Development Plan.” The plan claims to turn Gaza into a "Middle East Riviera" and proposes the idea of cleaning up about 2 million people in the area. Avital used AI tools when he created this video in February, which took less than eight hours. He was surprised by the rapid spread of the video, especially Trump posted it on social media without authorization.
Avital revealed that the video was originally shared only in private circles, and he and his business partner Ariel Flomon suggested withdrawing it after realizing it could cause controversy. However, Trump ignored this suggestion and posted the video directly on his social platform. This behavior not only made the video famous quickly, but also made Avitar receive thousands of messages from friends and netizens, reminding him that the video has been widely circulated.
Avitar said the media's interpretation of the video was very different from his original intention of creation. He hopes to use this video to trigger public discussions on the rights and responsibilities of generative AI technology. He believes that although AI technology can stimulate creativity, it also requires appropriate supervision to avoid being maliciously exploited. This view was supported by UC Berkeley professor Haney Farid. Farid pointed out that AI-generated videos will become more common in the future, warning that the technology may pose potential risks, especially the proliferation of false content may affect public perception.
Despite the challenges brought by AI technology, Avitar remains optimistic about its future. He believes that AI can provide more possibilities for creators, but also requires clear rules to ensure that it is used responsibly. This incident not only reveals the potential of AI technology in content creation, but also highlights the risk of its possible abuse, providing important discussion materials for future technical supervision.