Golden tickets turn out to be gilded rubbish
“Don’t believe everything you see online,” a common saying parents usually trot out when their children begin exploring the world of the internet. After a bizarre experience in Glasgow, Scotland, it turns out many adults need to follow the phrase themselves.
The recent movie Wonka increasingly grew in popularity, and many found ways to profit from it. Selling chocolate bars, merchandise, and even hosting events all seem like harmless acts. Unfortunately, these were not as innocent as they appeared.
“Willy’s Chocolate Experience,” a falsely advertised event, flourished through their website (which is ironically still up for viewing) displaying pictures of a whimsical candy-land with titles of each section defining that part of the experience. A cursory inspection, however, reveals numerous mistakes in the wording and spelling on the images, including words that don’t even exist, like “dodjection”, “catgacating”, and “a paradise of sweet teats”. The artwork contains many weird portions that do not seem intentional. After many families decided to give the event a try, they soon learned those images were created by AI technology.
These very pronounced mistakes did not prevent families from assuming the experience would be identical to the one described on the website. After paying £35 per ticket, everyone expected a memorable time, which it indeed was. Once they arrived, they noticed the location was an empty warehouse sparsely decorated with poor quality props. The dull environment increased suspicion, but the guests carried on.
When the experience began, characters from the movie were seen performing acts that had nothing to do with the story. The costumes made it obvious the budget was very limited and very little time was put into organizing the event. Oompa Loompas were seen displaying laboratory experiments with a frown upon their face. The creators of this experience, House of Illuminati, decided that these Halloween-dressed actors weren’t enough, so they decided to add an additional character called The Unknown -- someone not even in the film, and possibly created by the AI script that was handed to each of the actors.
After news started to stir about this event, some of the actors came out and shared their experiences. The Unknown was played by a 16-year-old girl, who was thrilled to have gotten the role as this would be her first time receiving pay for an acting job. Though it may have paid well, the job itself was a poor one due to the lack of formality and order within the organization.
Paul Connor was another actor excited for the opportunity, but the moment he stepped into the empty warehouse, his heart sank as he realized the amount of disappointed faces that would join him very soon. Connor claimed that the actors were told to improvise and hand out a mere couple of jelly beans to the children at the end of the experience, in payment for their poor performance.
Parents rushed to Facebook to share this upsetting occurrence and the angered reviews came pouring in. House of Illuminati ended up posting a statement, apologizing for the incident and claims they are going to refund every family that attended.
Though the parents got their money back in the end, it proves the gullibility relating to online consumption. This naivety is only further exploited due to the advancement of AI technology. The abuse of AI can lead to many more unhappy, and dangerous, experiences.
This entire situation leaves one curious as to how many unsafe scenarios can be created with the help of AI. As years go by, children are getting a hang of technology and the use of social media, yet so many are careless to many dangerous additions that can end up affecting their lives. What if someone were to create a false advertisement to lure in kids and possibly endanger them? The likelihood is too high to be letting children use social media unsupervised. Not only children, but adults are easily persuaded into these risky affairs, as seen in this circumstance.
The case of Willy’s Chocolate Experience underscores the need for careful consideration and oversight in the use of AI technologies. While AI holds tremendous promise for businesses seeking to innovate and improve efficiency, it must be implemented responsibly, with safeguards in place to prevent potential risks. This includes ensuring transparency and accountability regarding business advertisements, as well as a clear and truthful description of the service. Hopefully this situation serves as a lesson to parents unaware of AI, and will prevent many from attending any sort of seemingly “wonky” experience in the future.
by Haniya Mexxi
Published April 1st 2024
Oshkosh West Index Volume 120 Issue VI