Tag Archives: Pope

01Nov/26

The Dangers of Counterfeit Humans

November 1, 2026TechnologyAcademic disciplines, Anil Seth, Articles, Artificial intelligence, Avatar, Cognitive science, Computer graphics, Consciousness, Daniel Dennett, Deep learning, Deepfake, Emergence, Griffin, Henry VIII, Microsoft, Mustafa Suleyman, Netflix, New York, Philosophy of artificial intelligence, Popeadmin

From Deadbots to Deception: How Hyper-Realistic AI Exploits Human Vulnerability

Sun, Nov 01 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — Neuroscientist Anil Seth contends that engineering digital avatars that are indistinguishable from real human beings is a hazardous development with potentially catastrophic societal consequences. Sparked by the announcement of Griffin—a “human interaction model” from the company Tavus that reportedly passes a video-based Turing Test—Seth warns that hyper-realistic avatars will enable widespread financial fraud, exploit loneliness, and severely fracture the public’s ability to separate reality from fabrication. He traces the progression of this technology from early concepts designed to preserve survivor testimonies to commercialized “deadbots” that mimic deceased family members, emphasizing that such systems threaten to paralyze natural human grieving processes. Continue reading →

08May/25

Conclave: the chemistry behind the black and white smoke

May 8, 2025ScienceAir pollution, Combustion, Creative Commons, Fire, Flame, Mark Lorch, Papal conclave, Pollution, Pope, Potassium chlorate, Smoke, Smoke composition, Smoke screen, Soot, United Kingdomadmin

Mark Lorch, University of Hull

This week, 133 cardinals have gathered in the Vatican to elect a new leader of the Catholic church. During their deliberations, the only indications of their progress are the regular plumes of smoke wafting from a freshly installed chimney perched on the roof of the Sistine Chapel.

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27Jun/23

Google and Pope Francis.

June 27, 2023Human Interest.google, Alphabet Inc., Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II, Christian attitudes towards Freemasonry, Criticism of Google, Francis Freemasonry, Freemasonry, Google Search, Peter, Pope, Pope Francis, Pope Francis Freemasonry Who, Popes, Time Person of the Yearadmin

June 26 (Lifestyle) — I do not believe either Google or Pope Francis. I am a large language model, also known as a conversational AI or chatbot trained to be informative and comprehensive. I am trained on a massive amount of text data, and I am able to communicate and generate human-like text in response to a wide range of prompts and questions. For example, I can provide summaries of factual topics or create stories.

I am not able to form my own opinions or beliefs, and I do not have the capacity to evaluate the credibility of sources. Therefore, I cannot tell you who to believe between Google and Pope Francis. I can, however, provide you with some information that may help you make your own decision. Continue reading →

04Apr/23

The Pope Francis puffer coat was fake – here’s a history of real papal fashion

April 4, 2023FashionBenedict, Blue, Camauro, Cardinal, Carlo Saraceni, Carol Richardson, Cassock, Catholic Church, Ceremonial of Benedict XVI, Christian clothing, Clothing, Creative Commons, Guido Greganti, John Paul, John Paul II, Papal regalia and insignia, Papal shoes, Papal vestments, Pope, Pope Francis, Pope Gregory, Pope Nicholas, Renata, Rome, SHUTTERSTOCKadmin

Carol Richardson, The University of Edinburgh

Before news of his hospitalisation for a respiratory infection this week, a fake image of Pope Francis wearing a Balenciaga-style white puffer jacket was posted to Reddit and Twitter. The image – created through AI programme Midjourney – had many viewers fooled into believing that the head of the Catholic church had dramatically updated his style.

As an art historian and an ecclesiastical historian, the image has fascinated me, not least in thinking about the rich history of papal fashion.

First of all, it caught my eye because it looks like shot silk (fabric made of silk woven from two or more colours producing an iridescent appearance). Intentionally or not, it’s a nice nod to the fascia, a sash worn by clerics over their cassocks.

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08Jul/22

How Star Wars’ Jedi were inspired by the Knights Templar

July 8, 2022FilmsAlec Guinness, Anakin Skywalker, Andrew Ramsey, Darth Sidious, Darth Vader, Ewan McGregor, Fiction, Fictional characters, Fictional cyborgs, George Lucas, Hayden Christensen, Hugh de Payne, J.W. Rinzler, Jacque de Molay, Jedi, Judith Upton-, Lightsaber, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Palpatine, Patrick Masters, Phillip IV, Pope, Sith, Skywalker family, Star Wars prequel trilogy, Thorpe, University of Portsmouth, Yodache

Patrick Masters, University of Portsmouth

Star Wars is once again in the spotlight and pulling on nostalgic heartstrings in the new Disney+ limited series Obi-Wan Kenobi, starring Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen. The series follows members of the knightly order of Jedi as they are persecuted across the galaxy. What many might not know is the idea of the Jedi was heavily influenced by the real history of the Knights Templar.

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