The Next Big Political Scandal Could Be Faked
Is the clip stupid or terrifying? I can’t decide. To be honest, it’s a bit of both.
“I just think I would love to get Ratatouille’d,” a familiar-sounding voice begins.
“Ratatouille’d?” asks another recognizable voice.
“Like, have a little guy up there,” the first voice replies. “You know, making me cook delicious meals.”
It sounds like Joe Rogan and Ben Shapiro, two of podcasting’s biggest, most recognizable voices, bantering over the potential real-world execution of the Pixar movie’s premise. A circular argument ensues. What constitutes “getting Ratatouille’d” in the first place? Do the rat’s powers extend beyond the kitchen?
A friend recently sent me the audio of this mind-numbing exchange. I let out a belly laugh, then promptly texted it to several other people—including a guy who once sheepishly told me that he regularly listens to The Joe Rogan Experience.
“Is this real?” he texted back.
They’re AI voices, I told him.
“Whoa. That’s insane,” he said. “Politics is going to get wild.”
I haven’t stopped thinking about how right he is. The voices in that clip, while not perfect replicants of their subjects, are deeply convincing in an uncanny-valley sort of way. “Rogan” has
