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Is an alien spacecraft visiting our solar system? A wave of videos featuring famed physicist Michio Kaku making that claim have been spreading on social media. But the scientist is warning the public the clips are actually AI deepfakes spreading misinformation.
“There has been a sudden rise of fraudulent unauthorized deep fake AI videos, impersonating me, misleading the public with crazy false claims that are not my own,” Kaku tweeted this week.
The videos look convincing and exploit a real interview Kaku gave about 3I/ATLAS, which NASA tracks as a comet. It made the rounds after a recent research paper speculated that 3I/ATLAS might be “alien technology,” despite the overwhelming consensus it is not.
3I/ATLAS (Credit: NASA, ESA, David Jewitt (UCLA); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI))
“The majority faction says ‘What’s all the fuss about? I mean It’s just a rock from outer space,’” Kaku told Newsmax. “Another faction, however, says ‘Now, wait a minute. Perhaps, this is a visitor. An intelligent visitor from another solar system.’”
That’s because 3I/ATLAS is the third object that astronomers have ever detected originating from outside our solar system. In the interview, Kaku adds that the scientific community will look for signs that 3I/ATLAS’s speed increases as it circles the Sun—an indication that the mysterious object is no mere comet, but features artificial propulsion. “If it picks up extra energy on its flyby, that would clinch it. That means there’s extra terrestrial intelligence involved,” he said in the interview.
Theoretical physicist Avi Loeb has been the most vocal figure pushing the hypothesis that 3I/ATLAS could be an alien spacecraft, despite evidence that it’s ejecting water vapor like a comet, although at a staggering rate.
The problem is that the AI-generated videos of Kaku take things further by exploiting his image and voice to talk as if 3I/ATLAS is almost certainly an alien spacecraft or recon vehicle, and that it beamed energy to Mars or the Sun. Some clips even suggest the mysterious nature of 3I/ATLAS is already known to the US government and a cover-up is taking place.
Physicist Brian Cox also reports seeing AI deepfakes of himself pushing similar misinformation on YouTube. “We keep telling them and they are bloody slow,” he tweeted about trying to get Google to remove the videos.
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Kaku has also been calling on YouTube and TikTok to do more to crack down. “I call on AI thought leaders to put real efforts into stopping this blatant abuse of their inventions,” he added.
In the meantime, others have been monitoring for changes to 3I/ATLAS, which reached its perihelion today, the point in its orbit closest to the Sun. Loeb has said, “For a spacecraft, perihelion is the optimal time for either acceleration or deceleration by an impulse from an engine, thanks to the gravitational assist from the Sun.” So, observers have been closely watching for any changes to 3I/ATLAS and its trajectory.
YouTube and TikTok didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Michael Kan
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I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this year, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how President Trump’s tariffs will affect the industry. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.
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