--- title: "AI Shows What Mark Zuckerberg Would Look Like Living in Poverty" description: "An AI artist has imagined what Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos would look like if they lived in slums — and honestly, the images go kind of hard." date: "2023-04-11" modified: "2023-04-11" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/ai-zuckerberg-poverty" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai art" - "image generator" - "midjourney" - "the digest" --- # AI Shows What Mark Zuckerberg Would Look Like Living in Poverty ![An AI artist has imagined what Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos would look like if they lived in slums — and honestly, the images go kind of hard.]() *\Image: Gokul Pillai via Instagram\* ## Mind Journey An artificial intelligence artist has imagined what famous figures like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos would look like if they lived in slums — and honestly, the images go kind of hard. In an Instagram post aptly-captioned "[slumdog millionaires]()," spotted by [*Mashable SEA*](), India-based artist Gokul Pillai used AI image generator Midjourney to create a series of strikingly realistic-looking images of everyone from Donald Trump and Warren Buffett to Elon Musk and Bill Gates. The images are, it's worth noting, reliant on stereotypes about the kind of conditions poor people live in, as if they were plucked straight out of the 2008 smash hit movie "Slumdog Millionaire." ![]() *Image Credit: Gokul Pillai* ## Alternate Universe These riches-to-rags images come after a spate of AI-generated images showed all kinds of uncanny scenarios, from [phony shots of Trump being arrested](), to that weirdly-believable one of [Pope Francis looking hella swagged out]() in a crisp white puffer coat. Beyond making an arguably on-the-nose statement about wealth and poverty, these images are also a little ironic because they depict a number of billionaires who are actively invested in AI. In fact, all figures depicted in the series have, in some way or another, touched the AI industry, though both [Gates]() and [Musk]() have issued warnings about the technology despite being [invested]() [in it](). Whether the artist deliberately chose billionaires who have made significant investments in AI or it's just something most billionaires are into these days is unclear. But one thing's for sure: it's a fascinating glimpse at an alternate reality in which the richest men in the world struggle to make ends meet. **More on AI dystopia:** [*Tech Guy Changes Mind About Emulating Dead Parents After Watching “Black Mirror” Episode*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()