The sophistication and use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) has risen in recent months, creating the need for serious awareness and care for anyone who plans to continue watching videos or consuming the news.
In this blog post, I will use the term AI, but most AI that is being used is not so much a sentient intelligence as it is actually a more sophisticated form of “machine learning” (aka, ML) and “deep learning,” which are AI-related processes for learning from historical data and for mimicking human brain functions, respectively.1 When you search Google with a question, or do an image search (like with Google Lens, which launched in 2017), or have your email or Word document propose text for something, these are often largely based on machine learning or deep learning processes.
But as you are probably aware, we now live in a world where AI videos are everywhere. They come in all stripes, from humorous videos to heartfelt messages, educational videos and satirical, “just for fun” videos made usually for friends and family, and even more than that. These videos are shared across all platforms that support videos; Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube, everything has them. If you can upload a video, you can certainly upload a video created by AI via the prompts of a user.
Many of these videos are well-intended. (Again, for humor, or just for fun, and so on.) Here’s a picture I had Google Gemini create with Veo 3. I’ve never had anything pierced, but this picture looks quite magnetic!
Similarly, I’ve never gone skydiving, and rocket-powered jetpacks don’t even exist. Or do they?
Let’s leave still images behind and go back to talking about video. The rise of the number of AI-generated videos means the rise in the number of AI video generators. Midjourney is well-known. Other generators include Descript, LTX Studio, Synthesia, Invideo, Runway, and many more. Runway, just to pick one example, founded in 2018 and has focused on improving the use and accessibility of AI tools. They have had 7 years to develop some impressive stuff.
The rise in the number of AI-generated videos also means the rise of sophistication in those videos. My family and I made silly videos on WOMBO’s AI lip-sync app in 2021. The AI had difficulty working with a human face if it wasn’t centered or facing the camera directly. The movement could be relatively grainy. And the options were limited! You could pick one of a handful of songs and each song had its own head and eye movements that were fixed. You could not customize how the head bobbed or how or when the eyes looked side to side. We all had a good laugh at my wife’s childhood photo singing the chorus of “I Got You” by James Brown, not to mention a ridiculous photo of myself singing along to “Witch Doctor” by Cartoons (LINK).
But when you take a look at recent AI videos, the movement is often very smooth or more natural than the videos made even just a year ago. The free or low-cost AI tools that produce short videos, especially those that do not do sound, can be less sophisticated, but they are still better than the 2021 WOMBO app, which seems like ancient technology to today’s users.
Who knew Donald Trump had such smooth dance moves? Here is an AI-generated video of him as a belly dancer. Link: https://youtube.com/shorts/MeJnXo6gIC0?si=oA4g2WAyTR2tBx-Q.2
And who couldn’t appreciate the fighting skills of a toddler sparring with a rooster? This AI-generated video even has sound. Link: https://youtube.com/shorts/Ulk4JAQ4Kyg?si=-0M1Cd09m6owPevB.3 My brother-in-law assisted me with Midjourney to create a video of me getting into a car. This video prompt was done with a still picture and a text prompt (LINK).
Seems innocuous enough. If the picture had been taken in a parking lot, or if the text prompt were to relocate that man in the picture (me) to a parking lot, it would look even more natural.
“So, why the warning, Adam? All these things are harmless.”
That’s a great question, reader. Thank you for asking.
Hold in your mind a simple thought experiment for a moment. What if the video of me getting into a car was set in a parking lot? And what if the parking lot were one in the real world, like a parking lot near Petco Park in San Diego? And what if a car had been stolen from that parking lot recently? And what if the make, model, and color of that stolen car were in the AI generator’s text prompt? And what if the end result is a video implicating me in stealing the make, model, and color of a real-world car that really was stolen from that parking lot? Finally, what if that video were submitted as “evidence” to create an arrest warrant and possible trial to prosecute me for that crime?
What if somebody could create a video of you committing any kind of crime, like robbing a bank (Video Link)?
Or stealing a purse (Video Link)?
Or destroying somebody else’s property (Video Link)?
These examples are silly, but think about what people can do and are already doing with actual malicious intent.
What if someone deliberately tries to impersonate someone who can make decisions that impact people’s lives? Marco Rubio was impersonated in his role as the current US Secretary of State on July 3, 2025. Click this link to read the AP article about it.4
Let’s talk about an example that is less personal. I live in California, where we suffer wildfires basically all year long. During one of the recent fires, there was a lot more media coverage and attention. In the midst of that time, a video came out of firefighters rescuing forest animals. I cannot find the original video I saw, but I found a similar one where a firefighter stands, peacefully looking down at a large rabbit he holds in his arms while huge flames destroy the forest behind them. Link: https://youtube.com/shorts/c2WikkwTjZY?si=_r2bzfWXqzAfT_Ia.5
Now, that forest fire clip looks pretty real, doesn’t it? The rabbit looks like a rabbit. The firefighter looks like a real man. Looking closer and thinking clearly helps us, though. The behavior of both the man and the rabbit help us see that this is AI-generated.
- No firefighter will spend time picking up a rabbit and admiring it when he could be dealing with the fire that seems to be very close to him. (Fire can move very rapidly, after all. He may be safe now, but standing in that spot could get him in big trouble if the wind changes and the fire takes over his position in a few seconds.)
- Firefighters do not generally rescue forest animals. Their job is to fight the fire.
- God gave forest animals the good sense to RUN from fire! They don’t hang around waiting for rescue. You might wonder if this is true due to the “deer in the headlights” phenomenon many people have seen, but animals instinctually flee from fire and smoke.
- Even the bravest firefighter would have the training and the sense to deal with the fire, not face away from it when he is that close to it.
You may find even more data points to show that this video is AI-generated.
But I want you to consider how much AI video sophistication has progressed in just the last 4 years. We went from amusingly awkward WOMBO videos in 2021 to smooth videos in 2025 that convince viewers of things that never happened.
We went from AI videos that were undeniably fake to videos that are difficult to deny as true.
What do we do with AI videos, given how many there are and how sophisticated they are?
- Do not believe everything you see in online videos or photos.
This principle is easy to use when we see something obviously silly or unreal, like a fish with the head of a kitty cat. But many people are getting deceived by AI videos. Factors that can contribute to our belief in these deceptions include (but are not limited to) failing eyesight, lack of knowledge of the truth related to that video, or our own biases.
- Failing eyesight can happen at any age. Those of us with failing eyesight can miss the signs that a video was AI-generated. For example, a blurry face, identified as a well-known person, can be trusted by accident.
- Lack of knowledge of the truth regarding the video occurs frequently. None of us know everything. When we watch a video that claims to show, let’s say, current events in the Middle East, we are more likely to believe whatever it shows us if we live in America, and if we rarely read or watch the news. We are more likely to believe that the reporting is accurate, the less we know about the situation.
- Our own biases influence how we receive information. For example, if you have a favorite political party, you are more likely to believe the good things about that party’s politicians and you are more likely to believe the bad things about the other party’s politicians. This observation has been shown true countless times. We like to believe our group is mostly or only good and the other group (“the opposition”) is mostly or only bad. So if we watch a video that confirms the bias we already have for or against, we are very likely to believe it.
I have shown you several videos that are silly, or that have a relatively poor level of sophistication (by 2025 standards). Let me show you another one. The caption at the top of the video is not relevant to my article because this warning related to AI videos is for all ages. But watch it anyway. Link: https://youtu.be/eQU70usQStw?si=xx1XXSDfKiELeTrv.6
The reporters in that video are incredibly lifelike. So are many of the details, from how their hair blows in the wind, to the movement of water, and more. If AI video is this good now, how much better will it be 4 years from now? 10 years from now?
There are and there will continue to be deceivers and scam artists who use AI tools, such as videos, to hurt people.
- AI-generated videos will be used to make it look like a person committed a crime or immoral act. Posting your pictures on the internet creates the raw material that they will use to create these videos.
- AI-generated videos will be used to falsely report on world events or national news in order to get you to vote a certain way or to turn a blind eye to the immoral or criminal activities of others.
- AI-generated videos will be used to create p*rnography, especially false celebrity p*rnography and revenge p*rnography. I don’t want to be crass, but it is a reality to be aware of. People post selfies while on family vacations, or when getting a new haircut, etc. Sometimes, they send those pictures directly to loved ones. But when an anonymous user on the same social media platform, or when an upset ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend, decides to inflict pain on you, they can use those pictures against you. Those pictures can be used to create fake videos, referred to as “revenge p*rnography.” Yes, I am aware that such a thing is a serious crime with serious consequences. But people will do this anyway, especially if they think they can get away with it. So don’t immediately trust a news headline that says some celebrity, or someone you know, has a leaked video going around. You can no longer trust that such things are real.
2. Do your research to find out if the thing really happened.
If you are looking for something reporting on the truth, you need to take your time, check multiple credible sources,7 and—I would strongly recommend—you READ about that news item. A written article about the news is both easier to fact-check and easier to approach with a critical eye.
3. Limit how many pictures you share of yourself on the internet.
If you have posted something on the internet or texted it to someone’s phone, it is discoverable. Maybe you thought that selfie was sent in confidence to that boyfriend or girlfriend. Guess what? It is still discoverable by determined parties. The fewer pictures there are of you online, the fewer opportunities they have to try to ruin your reputation, career, family, etc.
4. Do not upload pictures of yourself and your family to AI video generators.8
Most, if not all, of these companies will use what you create as fuel for the machine to create new content. Related both to this point and the one before is the truth that if a service is free to use, then YOU are the product. Free services like Tik Tok, Instagram, et al, sell your data all the time. Call me a Luddite, but we need to seriously consider what we’re doing.
5. Cultivate healthy habits in the context of a discipleship relationship.
Put your faith in and follow Jesus Christ with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. As you do so, ask someone who is further along in the faith than you if they would work with you to help you develop healthy habits. Healthy habits will reduce or eliminate opportunity and desire to engage in the 24/7 news cycle, the emotionalism (both the heights of rage and the lows of despair) encouraged by “doomscrolling,” and more. Healthy habits include daily Bible reading and prayer, weekly worship service participation,9 as well as regular (at least once per week) service to your church and/or to those outside the church. Limit your use of the apps that give you opportunity to watch those videos, either by limiting your time spent on those apps, or by uninstalling them from your phone entirely.
6. Help others be wise in their consumption of video content.
Maybe you have kids or grandkids who have their first phones and, one way or another, they are consuming video content and have no idea how to do any of this. Or maybe you have parents or grandparents who are perfectly capable, but are unaware of the enormous scale of AI videos or the recent sophistication of AI videos meant to deceive them. Talk with the people in your life to help them be wise in their consumption of videos or images. I have seen multiple examples of AI-generated still pictures that claim to be photographs of historical moments “few have seen” or “nobody has seen” or even simply presented as a picture. They are black-and-white photographs, seemingly. But they are fakes put out there to get users to like, comment, subscribe/follow. Which allows those pages or users to ultimately sell you something or try to hack your account if you start messaging with them and they have a simple link they want you to click.
I would not want you to finish reading this feeling all gloom and doom about this issue. AI tools have been helpful and will continue to be helpful in all kinds of ways. Ever started typing a search prompt in Google and had it suggest options for you, so you tap or click on it to save you a few seconds? That’s an AI-generated prompt as it guesses what you are searching. There are good and healthy ways to use AI. This article is intended to help you properly handle the bad content. It is NOT intended to scare you or warn you off from all content. If you’d like to add suggestions or thoughts on this in the comments below, I invite you to do so.
And here’s me with a flamethrower and an unexpected ponytail (one last LINK).
- “What is AI?,” Cole Stryker and Eda Kavlakoglu, IBM.com, https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/artificial-intelligence (accessed July 2, 2025). ↩︎
- Username @shortaivideos2026 on YouTube. This blog does not necessarily endorse or recommend the content of this video creator. ↩︎
- Username @mindcraftai3 on YouTube. This blog does not necessarily endorse or recommend the content of this video creator. ↩︎
- “Impostor uses AI to impersonate Rubio and contact foreign and US officials,” Associated Press, accessed July 8, 2025: https://apnews.com/article/rubio-artificial-intelligence-impersonation-1b3cc78464404b54e63f4eba9dd4f5a9?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share. ↩︎
- Username @heroinlife-f20 on YouTube. This blog does not necessarily endorse or recommend the content of this video creator. ↩︎
- Username @krayzeeclips on YouTube. This blog does not necessarily endorse or recommend the content of this video creator. ↩︎
- This could be a blog post all on its own. If you want to learn more about this kind of thing, reach out to me and I’ll be happy to talk. This sort of thing is called “media literacy;” in other words, knowing how to sort through the completely false, the mixed results of true and false, and the simple facts. Statistics, for example, can be easily manipulated by the skilled propaganda writer/video creator. ↩︎
- “But Adam, you did that to create examples for this blog post!” Yes, I know. ↩︎
- I say “participation” instead of “attendance” because you should be as fully engaged in the worship service as possible, not just a passive consumer. Get in there and really sing! Really pray! Really encourage people around you! Really sacrifice your time, talents, and treasure! And more! Again, another blog post could be written about this subject. (And has been, by many before me.) ↩︎
A blog by Adam W. Christman 
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