Stunned Putin double-takes as he is confronted with AI deepfake of himself that asks if he uses doppelgangers… then tells it: ‘You might resemble me and speak with my voice – but there’s only one me’

Vladimir Putin was caught off guard today during his marathon year-end press conference when he looked at the big screen expecting to see a Russian citizen calling – and instead came face to face with an artificial intelligence-generated deepfake of himself.

A student at St. Petersburg State University constructed a visual and audio likeness of the Russian president and took the opportunity to ask the real Putin to share his thoughts on the dangers of artificial intelligence and whether it is using doppelgängers.

“Vladimir Vladimirovich, hello… I would like to ask you, is it true that you have many doubles? – asked the double, causing laughter from the Moscow public.

The question arises against the backdrop of speculation in Western media, as well as from independent Russian sources, that the head of the Kremlin may hire understudies.

“How do you assess the dangers that artificial intelligence and neural networks bring into our lives?” – added the student.

This question caused a rare hesitation for Putin, whose eyes visibly widened when he noticed the double flash of a digital body on the screen.

“I see that you can be like me and speak in my voice.” But I thought about it and decided that only one person should be like me and speak with my voice… and that would be me!” Putin responded before adding: “By the way, this is my first double,” perhaps wanting to dispel any rumors of doppelgängers.

The comment, said with a grin in a cheerful tone, caused even more laughter from the audience.

The Kremlin has previously denied that Putin uses body doubles due to health or security concerns.

Despite this, rumors continue to flourish, fueled by Ukrainian military intelligence, that there are several Putin doubles who have undergone plastic surgery and years of training to act as doubles.

A Japanese analysis of artificial intelligence based on voice, gait and facial recognition confirmed the theory that the Kremlin is using more than one body double.

At some point today he became out of breath and coughed for a moment. He blamed it on the “air conditioning.”

“Sorry, the air conditioners are overloaded,” he told viewers.

Putin’s back-and-forth with his digital likeness stood out as a light-hearted moment amid an otherwise serious affair, during which he asked questions about the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts, relations with the West and China, Russian economic policy and everything in between. . manner of solving everyday issues.

Putin, who has been in power for nearly 24 years as president or prime minister and announced last week that he is running for re-election, was greeted with applause as he arrived at the hall in central Moscow.

This year, ordinary citizens had the opportunity to ask questions on the phone alongside journalists, and Russian state media reported that at least 2 million questions were asked of Putin in advance.

At the start of the meeting, he said there would be no peace in Ukraine until the Kremlin realizes its goals, which remain unchanged after nearly two years of fighting that have led to soaring tensions between Moscow and the West.

He rejected the need for a second wave of mobilization of reservists to fight in Ukraine – a move that proved extremely unpopular.

He said there were about 617,000 Russian soldiers there, including about 244,000 troops who had been drafted to fight alongside the professional armed forces, and said that by the end of the year about 500,000 volunteers had signed contracts to fight for Russia.

“Peace will come when we achieve our goals,” Putin said, repeating a frequent Kremlin phrase. “Victory will be ours”.

“We have 1,500 people signing up every day—why do we need another round of mobilization?” – he asked rhetorically.

He repeated that Moscow’s goals in Ukraine – “denazification, demilitarization and neutral status” of Ukraine – remain unchanged. He articulated these vague goals the day he sent troops to the neighboring country in February 2022.

Putin also demanded that Ukraine remain neutral and refrain from joining NATO. When asked about Western support for Ukraine, Putin became visibly angry.

“Speaking of normalizing relations… they (the West) have always pushed us away.

“We are trying our best to build normal relations with Ukraine… we have always said that Russians and Ukrainians are one people, and what we see now is a tragedy, a war between brothers. The entire southeast of Ukraine has always been pro-Russian,” Putin said.

“(The West) will not allow us to build normal relations with Ukraine,” he continued.

“We will not forget their desire to sneak up on our borders and accept Ukraine into NATO. They forced us to act.

Relations between Russia and the United States have fallen to new lows as the conflict continues and after Moscow detained Wall Street Journal writer Evan Gershkovich during his reporting trip to Russia in March.

Shortly before Putin’s speech, a Russian court ruled that Gershkovich, 32, must remain behind bars until at least January 30.

US citizen Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan, is also imprisoned in Russia after being arrested in 2018 on espionage charges.

“We don’t refuse to return them,” Putin told a New York Times reporter at a news conference, adding that he wanted to reach an agreement, but “it’s not easy.”

He declined to go into detail about any exchange, but said Washington “must listen to us” and make an offer that satisfies Russia.

On Israel and Palestine, Putin said it was impossible to compare the situation with the situation in Ukraine and said he was committed to providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.

“Everything that is happening (in Gaza) is catastrophic. But this is not what is happening in Ukraine. The UN said today that the Gaza Strip is the largest children’s cemetery in the world. This is objective.

“First of all, we need to provide large-scale humanitarian support. They have asked us to provide more medical equipment and we will no doubt do so,” he said, before adding that Russia has set up a field hospital near Rafah and is planning a second, despite Israeli disapproval.

Speaking about Russian-Chinese ties, Putin praised the cooperation between him and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, saying that relations between the two countries are at a high level. at an unprecedented level.

He also spoke about the growth of the Russian economy, despite Western sanctions.

During the press conference, Putin appeared calm and relaxed, although he frequently cleared his throat, blaming the air conditioning.

His speech is aimed primarily at a domestic audience and gives him a chance to show personal involvement in solving the problems of ordinary Russians and strengthen his authority before the March 17 elections.

Although the press conference was carefully choreographed, some questions that Putin did not answer seemed to slip through the net and appear on screens around the room.

‘Mister. Mr. President, when will the real Russia become the way it is shown on TV?” One of the text messages appears to highlight the Kremlin’s control over the media, which portray Putin in a positive light, gloss over the country’s problems and highlight its achievements.

Another read: “Would like to know when our president will turn his attention to his country?” We have neither education nor healthcare. The abyss lies ahead.