E-Paper
‘Unemployed Canadian man’ went viral in TikTok videos. Turns out, he's AI
A series of TikTok videos showing an unemployed Canadian man complaining about the job market were actually generated using AI
A series of TikTok videos showing an unemployed Canadian man complaining about the job market were actually generated using AI, an investigation by CBC News Visual Investigations team has found. The TikTok videos showed a white man claiming he could not land a job anywhere, including Tim Hortons.
CBC News found that the man never existed. Instead, he was created with AI by an artificial intelligence firm called Nexa.
TikTok has since taken the videos down. The short form video-sharing platform said the videos violated its community guidelines because it was not clear that they were made using AI.
What the AI videos showed
The viral TikTok videos featured a white man named Josh, who appears to be in his 20s.
In one video, ‘Josh’ claimed he was unable to land a job at Tim Hortons. He claimed that he applied for a job and was asked whether he spoke Punjabi.
In another clip, he blasted Canada’s immigration policy, asking why people from other countries were granted residence when there were not enough jobs for Canadians.
The CBC investigation revealed that Josh does not exist. He is an AI persona created by Nexa.
Not one video contains racially motivated language, hate speech, or discriminatory remarks toward any group — including South Asians or immigrant communities, Nexa said in a statement to HT.com.
