Cable car dreams: how an AI hoax led an elderly couple on a wild goose chase in Malaysia

There can be nothing nicer than going on a road trip, especially if it includes visiting a new tourist attraction that everyone seems to be talking about.

But for an elderly Malaysian couple who travelled almost 400km from Kuala Lumpur to take a ride on a cable car they'd seen online, the trip was a waste of time - the cable car does not even exist.

The Independent reports that the couple had been duped by a video that was generated by artificial intelligence (AI), raising questions about how easily people can be taken for a ride, literally.

The publication said the couple travelled to Pengkalan Hulu last month after seeing the video, complete with a "reporter" interviewing excited tourists who'd come to ride the cable car, which featured prominently in the background.

But their excitement turned to disappointment when a staffer at a local hotel told them bluntly that she'd never been to the attraction at Kuak Hulu, because it did not actually exist.

This was after the couple told her they'd seen the video featured during a news segment on a local channel.

"I was so shocked ... I explained to the auntie that the video was (made by AI) and not real,” the hotel worker wrote in a post.

“The auntie then asked ‘Why would anyone want to lie? There was even a reporter (in the video)’,” the employee added.

The dejected traveller said she did not see any comments under the video indicating that it was fake; otherwise, she would have been more cautious.

When she told the staffer she had a good mind to sue the "reporter", it was pointed out to her that she, too, did not exist.

The story was also covered by the "Sinar Harian" newspaper, which quoted an official saying: “Of course, it doesn’t exist ... but I admit, it was exciting to watch. We were entertained, even if it was just AI-generated content."

Acting district police chief Ammad Salimi Md Ali was quoted in the Malay Mail urging the public not to share social media content before verifying it.

“To date, we have not received any reports involving losses, fraud or public concern related to the viral AI-generated video.

“Checks conducted in both Baling and Pengkalan Hulu have confirmed that no such cable car project exists,” he said.

Police said action could be taken under existing laws if such content caused public alarm or disrupted order, he added.

But the couple got no sympathy on social media, with many saying they could have done some research before embarking on their ill-fated sightseeing trip.

Kai Sosceles wrote: "'Vulnerable to AI scams' is the same thing as 'Didn't take 2 minutes to verify facts'. And that has been going on for far longer than computers have existed, and is always a skill that people need to learn."

Jeanne Griffin posted: "Boomers can’t tell the difference between reality and AI. AI needs to go away forever."