A father in Boca Raton, Florida, accused a Lyft driver of using AI-generated images to fake car damage following a trip with his daughters. The man in question, then, allegedly demanded a faux $75 damage fee.
As reported by WPTV, Boca Raton resident Bert Gor detailed that his daughters were at Red Reef Park with a friend. Hours later, they ordered a Lyft home, which was the first step in this bizarre case of AI-slop usage for even worse reasons than cute kitty clips.
Bert, suddently, got a weird and unexpected notification on his phone. It was his bank, Chase, which informed him of a fraud alert.
The fraud alert in question? A damage charge that was reportedly filed by the Lyft driver.
Almost Grounded Daughters Push Back
Bert saw a $75 charge and immediately tried to piece things together. His daughters were being accused of trashing a Lyft, and he was set on imparting fatherly justice as any father would do.
“In my mind, I’m thinking these girls are grounded for the whole weekend,” the Florida parent said. “Because him thinking they did something to the car,”
However, when the father confronted his daughters, they straight-up denied the allegations. A skeptic Bert contacted Lyft and asked for evidence. And that’s when things took a wild turn.
AI-Slop Fest
The father inspected the pictures and then showed them to their daughters. With a keen eye, they immediately determined that something was odd and off-putting with the photos.
“As my daughter is standing over my shoulder, she’s like, ‘Dad, that’s not us.’ She’s like ‘That’s AI,'” the then-confused man said.
And indeed, the photos look evidently doctored. The Lyft backseat featured weird-looking fries, a cup of soda, and a huge stain, all smelling artificial. The most compelling evidence, however, was the Gemini logo in the bottom right corner of the image, which is a clear indication that the image was altered or entirely generated by AI.
Lyft Apologizes, Issues Statement
Following this troubling realization, Gor contacted Lyft once again. To its credit, the company sided with the aggravated father and reimbursed him. Then, contacted WPTV, inquiring about driver-submitted fees and their review. Lyft, however, only referred to the incident described above, confirming that the driver was removed for good.
“Lyft takes damage disputes seriously and reviews each matter based on the available information,” Lyft’s statement read. “We have reviewed the rider’s concerns, offered reimbursement, and permanently removed the driver from the platform.”
Meanwhile, the father warns other users about the inappropriate uses of AI-generated content. He said, “You gotta pay attention to what’s being charged on there because if the fraud alert didn’t catch it, I would’ve missed it myself,” adding that they will take pictures of the cars after exiting them moving forward.