He survived against all odds: This Chinese skydiver was propelled 28,200 feet without oxygen and walked away unharmed
A Chinese skydiver had a potentially deadly moment while skydiving, but all is not what is seems...
One person’s insatiable desire is another’s worst nightmare. And I’m not talking about going shopping with my other half. Having said that, being shot out of a cloud in freezing temperatures at altitudes higher than commercial aircraft doesn’t seem so stressful.
Peng Yujiang, although he didn’t admit it, must be a bit of a thrill seeker. The Chinese paraglider has walked away unscathed after surviving a powerful updraft that lifted him into the upper atmosphere above the Qilian Mountains in China’s Gansu Province Saturday. Or so say state media.
“I had just bought a second-hand paragliding harness and wanted to test it, so I was conducting ground parachute shaking. After a while, the wind suddenly picked up and lifted me into the air. I tried to land as soon as possible, but I failed,” Peng revealed to Chinese TV on Tuesday.
Was Peng Yujiang’s paragliding video AI generated?
“I found myself surrounded by cumulonimbus clouds and trapped inside. It was terrifying — everything around me was white. Without the compass, I wouldn’t have known which direction I was heading. I thought I was flying straight, but in reality, I was spinning. Eventually, I managed to fly out toward the northeast,” he added.
Chinese state television published the video which shows Peng covered in ice as he is dragged through the clouds, but the story does not end there.
After analysis from various media outlets including the BBC and CNN, it appears that parts of the video may in fact be AI-generated. At time time of writing, the footage is under investigation for authenticity by the aforementioned outlets. CNN report that they “are seeking further information from Peng Yujiang, but he has not responded to our request.”
“NBC News has determined that some of the footage provided by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV and distributed by Reuters that appeared in our initial coverage was AI-generated. We have removed this video and are continuing to report on the veracity of the story. This note will be updated in due course,” it said in a statement posted under the pulled video.
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It’s unclear what benefit Peng would get from generating this video with Artificial Intelligence; the video was originally published by another paraglider, Gu Zhimin, after which China’s state-run Global Times said Peng’s flight was made “without permission, causing negative impacts“ - he was slapped with a 6-month flying ban as a result.
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