For Pope, it was the wrong kind of Madonna.

The pop legend behind the ’80s anthem “Like a Prayer” has been at the center of controversy in recent weeks after posting a deepfake image of the Pope hugging her on social media. This further fanned the flames of an already heated debate over the creation of AI art, in which Pope Francis plays a symbolic and unwilling role.

Catholic Church leaders are accustomed to being subject to AI fabrications. One of the defining images of the AI boom was Francis wearing a Balenciaga down jacket. The stunningly realistic photo went viral last March and was seen by millions of people. But Francis didn’t understand the funny side. In January, he referenced the Balenciaga image in a speech on AI and warned about the impact of deepfakes.

“Fake news…Today, ‘deepfakes’ – the creation and dissemination of images that appear completely plausible but false – can be used. I have been the subject of this as well.” he said.

Other deepfakes include Francis wearing a pride flag and holding an umbrella on the beach. Like the Balenciaga images, these were created by the Midjourney AI tool.

Rick Dick, the Italian digital artist who created the image of Madonna, told the Guardian that he did not intend to offend with the photo of Frances putting his arm around Madonna’s waist and hugging her. Another image on Rick Dick’s Instagram page seamlessly merges a photo of the Pope’s face with that of Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. They are more likely to be offended.

Rickdick said Mangione’s image was intended to satirize the American obsession with Mangione being “elevated into a god-like figure” online.

“My goal is to make people think and, if possible, smile,” said the artist, who goes by the stage name Rick Dick, but declined to give his full name.

He said that memes (viral images that are endlessly tweaked and reused online) are our “new visual culture, fascinated by their ability to convey deep ideas quickly.”

Experts say the Pope is a clear target for deepfakes because of the vast digital “footprint” of videos, images, and audio recordings associated with him. AI models are trained on the open internet, which is filled with content featuring prominent public figures, from politicians to celebrities to religious leaders.

Sam Stockwell, a researcher at Britain’s Alan Turing Institute, said: “The Pope is frequently featured in public life and there are vast amounts of photos, videos, and audio clips of him on the open web.” said.

“Because AI models are often trained indiscriminately on such data, these models are more sensitive to the facial features and facial features of individuals like the Pope than models with less large digital footprints. It makes it much easier to reproduce the similarities.”

Rick Dick said the AI model he used to create the photo of Francis that was posted to his Instagram account and then reposted by Madonna was created on a paid platform called Krea.ai by the pope and the pop star. It is said that the robot was trained specifically for images. However, realistic photos of Francis can also be easily created using freely accessible models such as Stable Diffusion, which allows users to place Francis on a bicycle or on a soccer field with a few simple prompts.

Stockwell added that there is also an obvious appeal to juxtaposing powerful figures with unusual or embarrassing situations, which is a fundamental element of satire.

“He is associated with strict rules and traditions, so some people want to deepfake him in unusual situations compared to his background,” he said.

Adding AI to the satirical mix will likely lead to more deepfakes from the Pope.

“I like to use celebrities, objects, fashion, and events to mix the absurd and the unconventional to provoke thought,” said Rick Dick. “It’s like working on a never-ending puzzle, always looking for new creative connections. The Pope is one of my favorite subjects to work on.”