Kirk's Death: FBI Releases Images of Alleged Killer, AI-Altered by Users

Hours after the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk , the FBI released blurry photos of the alleged killer online . Since then, as The Verge reports, some users have been using artificial intelligence tools to enhance the images . "AI tools don't uncover secret details in a blurry image, but they infer what might be there," The Verge writes, "even creating features that don't actually exist."

The main smartphones on the market today integrate AI tools into their photo apps, allowing you to delete or add content to images in just a few minutes. According to research by The Verge , on social media X and online forums there are dozens of AI-generated graphics based on the frames released by the FBI , which show what the face of the person of interest might look like , even down to the color of their eyes. Many variations come from Grok, X's AI, others from ChatGpt.

"It's unlikely any of these photos are actually useful to the FBI," The Verge continues, "but they're more likely to be used to get easy likes." The state of Utah later released clearer images of the young man, revealing more details, from his backpack to his pair of shoes. Relying on AI chatbots to find information about the killer is, in some cases, producing misinformation .

The Hindu reports examples of responses from Grok and ChatGpt, claiming the killer was a Utah Democrat named Michael Mallinson. The chatbots attribute the information, a hoax, to CNN and the New York Times. "News stories often trigger a frantic search for new information on social media," The Hindu writes, "leading to false conclusions that the chatbots then repeat, further fueling the chaos."