Taylor Swift may be a billionaire, but the latest allegations are painting her as an AI user for the promotional videos of her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl. Apparently, the clips that fans are being redirected to through this promotional tactic appear to be made using artificial intelligence (AI), which is critically upsetting her fans worldwide.
The promotional tactic featured QR codes that encouraged fans to look for “orange doors,” with 12 doors located across 12 cities, echoing the focus on it being her 12th studio album. These videos show hidden lounge areas and puzzles for the Swifties to pick apart, with visual clues and messages in the usual easter egg tease that Taylor Swift has fostered across her career.
A post shared by Taylor Swift News & Updates ❤️🔥 (@taylahschild2)
However, some eagle-eyed fans were quick to notice discrepancies in the videos, leading to the AI-usage allegations. In the London clip, for one, the details along the spokes of a tiny, silver Ferris wheel appear to blur and shift as it moves. In another instance in the same short clip, a coat is seen hanging on two coat hangers that merge into one as the camera swings around to the front by the end of the video (via @taylahschild2 on Instagram).
This turn of events has since had fans launching into a deeper dive into the matter, as they express their dissatisfaction with the Look What You Made Me Do singer allegedly making use of AI despite being a billionaire who spent the last five years reclaiming her art.
Fans Are Displeased With Taylor Swiftʼs Alleged Use of AI
On the one hand, it can’t be denied that the promotional trick for The Life of a Showgirl was, indeed, impressive. The 12 cities in which fans found the QR codes include Melbourne, London, Chicago, Nashville, Tennessee, New York, Paris, Milan, Berlin, Santa Monica, California, Las Vegas, Barcelona, and Beverly Grove, California. And that wasn’t the end of the fun either.
As was observed in each of these cryptic clips, multiple letters were displayed at different timestamps in the short clip, through which fans formed words that ended up combining into the message:
You must remember everything, but mostly this: The crowd is your king.
However, as interesting and impressive as this marketing tactic is, fans are still expressing their displeasure with Taylor Swift’s reportedly using artificial intelligence to curate these pieces despite being a mastermind billionaire.
If anything, they feel that, for an artist who fought for years just to reclaim her masterpiece art, the 35-year-old pretty much crossed a line by using AI in her own art, even if it was simply for promotion (per the observed facts and allegations). That said, taking to X, here’s how they have been reacting to the same:
a billionaire… an ‘artist’… with every creative resource at her disposal…. and she uses AI…
This is AI slop and it’s fucking disgusting that she is using it. Beyond hypocritical.
I really hope this isn’t AI (but it really looks like it) and if it is I really hope this was done more on YouTube’s end than it was Taylor’s cuz it would be so disappointing of her to use it
Really hope this isn't ai and it's just bad cgi bc I will be really disappointed
Eras tour made like a billion dollars but y'all had to resort to AI?
i was trying to defend taylor a bit but i cant defend this at all and i cant ignore it and im very upset bc why is she using ai………….. girl ur a billionaire who spent the last five years reclaiming your art what are you DOING!!!!!!!!!! https://t.co/DOsW2tzly9
While that’s that, with the hashtag #SwiftiesAgainstAI currently making rounds on X, some fans even pointed out how Swift previously expressed her fears over AI and even took a stand for artists whose work gets stolen (more on this later).
With these recent turn of events, they can’t help but accuse her of hypocrisy over the alleged use of artificial intelligence in her album’s promo videos. Take a look at what they are saying on X:
@taylorswift13 why would you give green light to something that not only depletes water resources but TAKES AWAY THE ART MADE BY OTHER PEOPLE. that was your whole speech wasn’t it? reclaiming your art? i’m very disappointed and expect some sort of apology.
they're saying it could just be bad cgi and the wonky words are intentional easter eggs and i really hope thats the case, because she's been so vocal about artists having the right to their work and its the one cause shes been consistent with.
Dear @taylornation13
We expected a decent album promo but we noticed that the promotion on cities were made by A.I
A.I has a large impact on the environment and wildlife because of its LARGE water consumption and more
Please learn better next time.
#SwiftiesAgainstAI pic.twitter.com/Kj0g7ajWKH
Taylor and her team deserve all the lashings for this idgaf. You can’t preach about stolen art, how artists should be paid fairly and AI and then turn around and pull this bullshit to promote your album.#SwiftiesAgainstAI pic.twitter.com/xUCUbOoUFL
what happened to your fear of AI and standing up for artists whose work gets stolen ? #SwiftiesAgainstAI pic.twitter.com/k5zXTyz9Bg
how absolutely dare you use ai
Apart from all this, some are also speculating that, since this latest scavenger hunt induced by Swift kicked off with fans searching for the Trouble singer on Google, there’s the possibility that the project could be part of a collaboration between her and the tech company. It could likely be to promote Google’s Veo video maker and AI products (as reported by Newsweek).
In fact, some Redditors even suggested that the videos were made with Google AI and that the two parties “miscalculated the response.” On the other hand, some were quick to notice the lack of promotion by Swift of this marketing project, speculating that it might indicate that Google acted alone with this one.
However, what’s worth noting is that the clips were initially posted to YouTube Reels associated with Swift’s account and were taken down following the backlash and negative reactions from fans worldwide. They are still active on the Eras Tour handle on X (@tswifterastour).
Ironically, Taylor Swift Previously Expressed Her “Fears around AI”
As perplexing as this entire turn of events is, what’s further making everything even more disappointing for fans is the fact that Taylor Swift previously voiced her “fears around AI.”
This occurred when an AI-generated image posted by President Donald Trump depicted the singer as Uncle Sam, endorsing Republican candidate Trump over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. Plus, the image used was the one that had originally been generated to have her endorsing former President Joe Biden.
At the time, the Enchanted singer was quick to slam down all those rumors. Taking to her Instagram handle, she candidly clarified the situation in a post,
Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site. It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation. It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth.
Besides this, there were also the comments she made during the release of her first re-recorded album. When she undertook the initiative with her “Taylor’s Version” albums to regain control of her music after the masters were sold to a third-party, Swift emphasized in a statement shared to her Tumblr handle (via BBC),
Artists should own their own work for so many reasons, but the most screamingly obvious one is that the artist is the only one who really *knows* that body of work.
Inevitably enough, all of these comments are now coming back to bite her as the singer continues to be embroiled in controversies for her reported (or rather, observed and caught) usage of artificial intelligence in her latest work.
As Taylor Swift herself has yet to comment on these allegations, it remains to be seen just how brutally exactly this entire turn of events will end up affecting her. But for now, the situation seems pretty heated for her. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
