Stunned Putin double-takes as he is confronted with AI deepfake of himself during press conference… then tells it: ‘You might resemble me and speak with my voice – but there’s only one me’

Vladimir Putin was caught off guard today during his marathon New Year’s Eve press conference when he looked up at the big screen expecting to see a Russian citizen calling on the phone and instead came face to face with a digital twin.

A student at St. Petersburg State University had built a “deepfake” visual and audio image of the Russian president and took the opportunity to ask the real Putin to share his opinion on the dangers of AI.

‘Vladimir Vladimirovich, hello… I want to ask: is it true that you have many twins?’ he asked twice, prompting laughter from the audience in the room with Putin in Moscow.

The question arises amid speculation in the Western media, but also from independent Russian sources, that the Kremlin chief could employ body doubles.

‘How do you see the dangers that artificial intelligence and neural networks bring to our lives?’ the student added.

The question prompted a rare hesitation from Putin, whose eyes visibly widened as he noticed the digital body flashing twice on the screen.

‘I see that you can look like me and speak with my voice. But I’ve thought about it and I’ve decided that only one person should be like me and speak with my voice… and that will be me!’ Putin replied before adding: “By the way, this is my first stuntman,” perhaps conscious of dispelling any stunt rumors.

The comment, said with a smile in a jovial tone, caused even more laughter from the audience.

Putin’s back-and-forth with his digital image stood out as a light-hearted moment in the midst of what was otherwise a serious matter in which he answered questions about the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts, relations with the West and China , Russia’s economic policy and all kinds of internal issues.

Putin, who has held power for almost 24 years as President or Prime Minister and announced last week that he will run for re-election, was greeted with applause when he arrived at the hall in central Moscow.

This year, ordinary citizens had the opportunity to ask questions by phone alongside those of journalists, and Russian state media said that at least 2 million questions for Putin had been submitted in advance.

Early in the process he declared that there would be no peace in Ukraine until the Kremlin achieves its goals, which remain unchanged after nearly two years of fighting that has raised tensions between Moscow and the West.

He ruled out the need for a second wave of mobilization of reservists to fight in Ukraine, a move that has been deeply unpopular.

He said there are about 617,000 Russian soldiers there, including about 244,000 soldiers who were called up to fight alongside professional military forces, and he said there would be about 500,000 volunteers who would have signed contracts to fight for Russia by the end of the year.

“There will be peace when we achieve our goals,” Putin said, repeating a frequent Kremlin line. “Victory will be ours.”

“We have 1,500 men sign up every day. Why do we need another round of mobilization?” he asked her rhetorically.

He reiterated that Moscow’s goals in Ukraine – “denazification, demilitarization and a neutral status” of Ukraine – remain unchanged. He had detailed those vaguely defined objectives the day he sent troops to his neighbor in February 2022.

Putin has also demanded that Ukraine remain neutral and refrain from joining NATO. When asked about the West’s support for Ukraine, Putin was visibly irritated.

‘Talking about normalizing relations…they (the West) have always been pushing us back.

‘We have done everything possible to build normal relations with Ukraine… we have always said that Russians and Ukrainians are one people and what we are seeing now is a tragedy, a war between brothers. “The entire southeast of Ukraine has always been pro-Russian,” Putin declared.

“(The West) would not allow us to build normal relations with Ukraine,” he continued.

‘We will not forget it, your aspiration to sneak up on our borders and bring Ukraine into NATO. They forced us to do it.

Relations between Russia and the United States have fallen to new lows as the conflict continues and after Moscow detained Wall Street Journal writer Evan Gershkovich while he was on a reporting trip to Russia in March.

Shortly before Putin spoke, a Russian court ruled that Gershkovich, 32, must remain behind bars until at least January 30.

U.S. citizen Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan, has also been jailed in Russia since his arrest in 2018 on espionage-related charges.

“We do not refuse to return them,” Putin told a New York Times reporter at the news conference, adding that he wanted to reach an agreement but “it is not easy.”

He declined to go into details of any exchange, but said Washington “must listen to us” and make an offer that satisfies Russia.

On Israel and Palestine, Putin said no comparisons could be made with the situation in Ukraine and said he was committed to providing humanitarian aid to Gazans.

‘Everything that is happening (in Gaza) is catastrophic. But that is not what is happening in Ukraine. The UN said today that the Gaza Strip is the largest children’s cemetery in the world. This is objective.

‘First of all, we must provide massive humanitarian support. “They asked us to provide more medical equipment and we will certainly do that,” she said, before adding that Russia had set up a field hospital near Rafah and was planning a second, despite Israeli disapproval.

Speaking about Russian-Chinese relations, Putin praised the cooperation between him and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and declared that relations between the two countries are at an unprecedented level.

He also spoke of the growth of the Russian economy despite Western sanctions.

Putin appeared calm and relaxed during the news conference, although he frequently cleared his throat, blaming the air conditioning.

His appearance is aimed primarily at a domestic audience and is an opportunity for him to appear personally involved in solving the problems of ordinary Russians and reinforce his authority before the March 17 elections.

Although the press conference is heavily choreographed, some questions – which Putin did not answer – seemed to slip through the net and appear on screens around the room.

‘Mister. President, when will the real Russia be the same as the one on television? one text message said, apparently referring to the Kremlin’s control over media outlets that portray Putin in a positive light, gloss over the country’s problems and highlight his achievements.

Another said: ‘I would like to know, when will our president pay attention to his own country? We have no education or medical care. The abyss lies ahead.”