The message from the police in Southern California was alarming: a deadly viper had been spotted in a tree.
The follow-up was a relief and a little bit funny, but alarming in a different way: The image that was offered as evidence of this rare sighting was fake — it had been generated by artificial intelligence.
“We have received reports of a snake believed to be a Gaboon Viper, last seen in a tree within a residential neighborhood,” the police in Santa Ana, southeast of Los Angeles, said in their initial alert on Monday. “The snake is estimated to be approximately four to five feet long.”
Reactions from residents no doubt varied, but it’s a safe guess many were along the lines of: “A five-foot freaking snake in a tree? My gosh, Uncle Rudy lives near there!” The snake was far from its normal home, the rainforests of equatorial Africa.
If the anxious read on, there was not much to calm the nerves: “Gaboon Vipers are highly venomous,” the police added. “DO NOT approach or attempt to handle it.” (Capitalization theirs. But yeah, we would have capitalized that, too.)
The police took action. Herpetologists were called in. The area was searched. No snake, or evidence of it, was immediately found.
The Gaboon viper is remarkable in a number of ways.
“This is a magnificent African venomous snake.” the Toronto zoo says of the creature, praising its colors — brown, buff, purple and pink — and the symmetrical patterns on its scales.
Then there is the scary detail that it has the longest fangs of any venomous snake in the world, an inch to an inch and a half long. It is also the heaviest venomous snake in Africa, weighing about 15-20 pounds.
And most alarmingly, the zoo warns that the Gaboon viper has the largest quantity of venom of any snake.
“They can strike with lightning fast speed and often retain their hold on their victim until the toxic venom does its job,” the zoo said. “When the prey stops moving, the Gaboon viper will begin to eat.” Yikes!
Oh that’s right. In all the excitement over the possibility of getting devoured, we almost forgot. There actually was no Gaboon viper in Southern California.
Detectives spoke with the person who reported the snake. At first he stuck to his story. But eventually he admitted his photo was A.I.-generated, the authorities said on Tuesday. The police did not immediately respond to inquiries about the person’s identity or whether he would face charges.
This statement also added, “There was speculation from the beginning that the photo may have been A.I.-generated.”
Some A.I. images of creatures look, shall we say, extremely phony. That pet cat did not scare off a menacing bear, folks. But others seem to fool all but the most educated naturalist.
It’s not the first time a photograph of dubious provenance has alarmed civilians. Last month, recreational activities in a reservoir in Singapore were halted after an image was posted of a crocodile in the water.
That image too turned out to be A.I., and a man was charged.
The post A Viper That Caused Alarm in California Was A.I.-Generated appeared first on New York Times.
