Philippines files rare protest over China Daily's AI monkey video — Beijing disowns it
TL;DR
The Philippines demanded removal of China Daily's AI monkey video and protested; Beijing disowned it.
The Philippines has taken the rare step of filing a diplomatic protest over an AI video from Chinese state media and demanding that China Daily remove it. The video shows a monkey in Filipino clothing directed by arms representing the U.S. and Japan, holding lyrics marked “South China Sea arbitration award,” then being thrown into the sea and hit by a vessel's water cannon.
China Daily posted the video on Facebook on July 10, during Philippine events marking the 10th anniversary of the 2016 South China Sea arbitral ruling. The Philippine foreign ministry called the imagery “offensive, distressing and unacceptable” and said legal and political disagreement did not justify it. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro called the video dehumanizing and racist.
China's foreign ministry said on July 17 that the video did not officially represent China and declined further comment. Defense ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin repeated that Beijing rejects the 2016 ruling. Reuters did not verify which generative AI system made the video and did not obtain a China Daily response to the removal demand.
The two countries had already clashed over vessels in the South China Sea, Chinese sanctions on Teodoro and a floating barrier at Scarborough Shoal. At publication, the protest had been filed, but the video's removal status and Beijing's formal response were undisclosed.
via The Guardian / Reuters
China Daily posted the video on Facebook on July 10, during Philippine events marking the 10th anniversary of the 2016 South China Sea arbitral ruling. The Philippine foreign ministry called the imagery “offensive, distressing and unacceptable” and said legal and political disagreement did not justify it. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro called the video dehumanizing and racist.
China's foreign ministry said on July 17 that the video did not officially represent China and declined further comment. Defense ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin repeated that Beijing rejects the 2016 ruling. Reuters did not verify which generative AI system made the video and did not obtain a China Daily response to the removal demand.
The two countries had already clashed over vessels in the South China Sea, Chinese sanctions on Teodoro and a floating barrier at Scarborough Shoal. At publication, the protest had been filed, but the video's removal status and Beijing's formal response were undisclosed.
via The Guardian / Reuters
