AI walked the Met Gala red carpet and fooled us all

Plus: France's economy, M&A's terrible year and more. Bloomberg This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a Sixth Republic of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - The [godfather of AI]( is too little, too late. - [France’s economy]( is at odds with reality. - M&A’s worst start [to the year]( since 2013. - [Solar tariffs]( are a climate disaster. The AI Anitas Between all the [cat costumes]( and [tweed](, it’s tough to choose a favorite look from the 2023 Met Gala. If I had to pick one, it would be the designs of [Vaquera](, a campy Paris-based label with a tongue-in-cheek approach to fashion. The two designers behind the brand, Patric DiCaprio and Bryn Taubensee, were tasked with dressing four celebrities for the big event: September Evans, Anita Kristiansen, Anita Lee and Carrie Marie Carey. I would argue they outshone even Zendaya, which for a Euphoria stan is saying something: Straight serving. Source: [@vaquera.nyc](, Twitter “You won the MET,” one Instagram user commented on [a picture of Evans](, sporting a pearlescent inflatable number. “Fantastic,” Marc Jacobs remarked on [the image of Kristiansen]( in custom plastic Vaquera. “The truest best tribute to Karl [Lagerfeld],” another wrote about [Lee’s trash dress](. Vaquera’s designs were clearly a hit, but not because garbage-bag dresses are iconic or inflatable marshmallow frocks are in. It’s because the dresses themselves aren’t real — and neither are the celebrities wearing them. That’s right: September, Carrie and the Anitas are fictional characters (with fabulous names, nonetheless) cooked up by DiCaprio and Taubensee. Last night, the two designers pulled a fast one on fashion fanatics by posting a series of four rather-believable [AI-generated images]( on [Vaquera’s Instagram page](, just as celebrities graced the Met’s famous steps. The pictures were met with praise by designers and purveyors alike. And that wasn’t the only stunt of the evening. The aforementioned Zendaya also [wasn’t in attendance]( — somebody [used AI to transpose her face]( onto the body of [Rita Ora](. Rewrite the stars. Source: [Twitter]( Vaquera’s [Pope-sized stunt]( is, in many ways, a familiar one. But perhaps because they used fake celebrities, and the dresses themselves were not knockoffs of another designer, the ruse was met with relative approval. The same can’t be said for the viral AI-generated song “[Heart on My Sleeve](,” which was built by a bot and baffled many into believing it was an authentic collaboration between Drake and The Weeknd. H. Drew Blackburn says the hit song “has [heightened concerns about whether those behind the music]( were maliciously targeting hip-hop and Black people.” As it stands, nobody knows who Ghostwriter977 — the individual who released the song — is, or their motivation. “They could very well be a troll whose motive is to devalue hip-hop and, to an extent, Black culture. Or they could be an agent of chaos trying to sow discord in the music industry,” H. Drew writes. Copyright law will play a big role in determining how protected artists are in this new, AI-riddled world. The resignation of Google’s Geoffrey Hinton, who is widely regarded as AI’s “godfather” — a rather ominous title, if you ask me — does not bode well for the industry. He [reportedly]( wants to speak more freely about the dangers of artificially intelligent systems. Parmy Olson says his decision to leave Google illustrates “[a chronic problem in AI research](: Large technology companies have such a stranglehold on AI research that many of their scientists are afraid of airing their concerns.” Already, we’re seeing people seriously misuse available AI tools, even “[jailbreaking](” them to get recipes for [napalm and meth](. Some scientists have parted ways with OpenAI — the maker of ChatGPT — in an attempt to create a safer version of the chatbot. Parmy [spoke with one such individual](, Jared Kaplan, who spearheads Anthropic, a rival startup that just received [a $400 million investment]( from Google. “Our understanding of these systems is lagging behind the power that they have,” Kaplan told her, noting that they’re working on creating a set of moral principles for their chatbot to follow. Whether Anthropic’s chatbot [Claude]( can harness the good bits of AI — art for art’s sake — and spit the bad parts out — misinformation, meth, napalm — is up for debate. Too bad we can’t ask September Evans for her opinion. I bet she’d have an intelligent one. Mon Dieu! France is in the midst of “the worst political crisis since the Algerian War,” but you wouldn’t know it by looking at this chart: Paris, for all its [protests]( and [trash mountains](, is doing remarkably well, Lionel Laurent writes. Despite President Emmanuel Macron’s down-in-the-dumps approval ratings, his economy is riding the bad vibes like a pat of butter on a warm baguette. The jobless rate hasn’t been this low since 2008, the year France made restaurants and bars [smoke-free](. And wages are rising, even while placards in the streets bear slogans like “commute, work, die.” It’s a juxtaposition that Lionel says is reminiscent of America’s “vibecession,” because “the French are gloomy about the country’s prospects, but satisfied with their own lot in life.” The real issue is Macron himself, who “can’t travel across France without being greeted by clanging pots and pans,” Lionel says. “Even the Parisian elite bemoan his Parisian elitism, comparing him to Barack Obama, who famously talked about [the price of arugula]( to Iowan farmers.” Macron’s abrasive personality has some people even calling for a “[Sixth Republic](,” which could put an end to the French presidency as we know it. Read [the whole thing](. Telltale Charts In the M&A universe, debt used to be cheaper than a pair of [Manolo Blahnik dupes]( on Amazon. But now, [corporations have hit a bit of a snag](: Our high-interest-rate world has caused the cost of borrowing to go up, and regulators “are flexing their powers in ways that test the limits of long-standing antitrust theory,” Ed Hammond writes. When combined, the two factors create a rather blergh environment for dealmakers who are staring down the barrel of an already-paltry deal landscape: Here’s a question: Would you want to run an Olympic sprint with 20-pound weights strapped to your ankles? Hahaha, no, of course you wouldn’t. But that’s exactly what the US would be doing by imposing bulky solar tariffs in the midst of our recession-ish, inflation-y, global-warmed year. A tariff bill that’s weaving its way through Congress may soon end up on President Joe Biden’s desk. It has the potential to “slow the transition to clean energy and defeat the purpose of the Inflation Reduction Act,” Mark Gongloff writes. Even if the president vetoes it, [US solar costs will still remain sky-high](. Bonus Listening “If what you're measuring is badges to the office or keystrokes, you'll miss a whole dimension of human performance.” Sarah Green Carmichael Bloomberg Opinion columnist and editor Tim O’Brien takes [a trip to Pity City]( and back on [the latest episode]( of Crash Course. Further Reading Crypto scams are the worst. Maybe [this]( can help. — Bloomberg’s editorial board Find out if the Fed is about to pause rates with [this one weird trick](. — Jonathan Levin The [debt-limit standoff]( could certainly get disastrous. — Bill Dudley The “backbone of [New India](” is imploding. — Mihir Sharma Republicans sure are big on [authoritarianism]( these days. — Francis Wilkinson Europe’s central bank needs to hop off [the hot mess express](. — Marcus Ashworth The perfect [potion for net zero]( is within reach. — Anne Finucane and Gina McCarthy HSBC is [ditching Asia]( at the worst time possible. — Paul J. Davies ICYMI Utah is [Porn Hub-less](. Businesses go [for broke]( in New Jersey. Who pays for Ron DeSantis’s [overseas travel](? Loneliness is as deadly as [a 15 cig-day](. Vermont [changed]( its assisted suicide law. Kickers The cutest [Croatian pasta](. [Critters]( are the new chocolate. Doobies are [dangerous]( for dogs. A [19th-Century woman]( predicted global warming. (h/t Mark Gongloff) Pedro Pascal’s [incredible knees](. Notes: Please send your favorite Met Gala looks and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](