Kate Ceberano has issued a serious warning after discovering an artificial intelligence-generated post that falsely depicted her grief following the death of close friend and actor Sam Neill.

Neill’s death last week prompted an outpouring of tributes from around the world. But amid the sincere messages of sadness, Ceberano found herself confronting something altogether different: an AI-generated image and fabricated post that portrayed emotions and words that weren’t hers.

“My first interaction with an AI version of myself. I nearly threw up,” she wrote.

“You were tricked and I kinda think this is just the beginning.”

Her reaction shines a spotlight on a troubling evolution in artificial intelligence. While fake celebrity investment ads have become familiar, the latest wave of AI deception is increasingly designed to exploit something far more powerful than curiosity — our emotions.

When emotion becomes the bait

For years, scammers have relied on urgency.

Your bank account has been compromised, or a parcel can’t be delivered, and the most common one, you’ve won a prize.

Now they’re adding another weapon to their arsenal, emotion, and it includes grief, shock, sympathy and outrage. These are the feelings that make people stop scrolling, react instinctively and share a post before asking whether it’s real.

Ceberano’s experience is a reminder that artificial intelligence is manufacturing emotional moments that never happened. It’s no longer a simple case of fake images any more.

It’s already happening in Australia

Deepfake technology has already been used to imitate Australian politicians and public figures in sophisticated scams.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles publicly described it as “terrifying” after scammers used AI to create what sounded like his voice in an investment scam targeting Australians.

Across social media, scammers have also used the likenesses of well-known Australians in fake cryptocurrency promotions, giveaways and investment advertisements. Research released this year found Chris Hemsworth, Margot Robbie and Robert Irwin are among the Australian celebrities most frequently impersonated by scammers, while only 16 per cent of Australians feel confident they could identify a deepfake.

International stars including Tom Hanks and Taylor Swift have also warned fans after AI-generated videos falsely appeared to show them endorsing products or giveaways.

The red flags to watch for

Experts say the best defence is recognising when someone is trying to manipulate your emotions.

Be cautious if you notice any of these warning signs:

• A post designed to provoke immediate shock, grief or outrage.
• Claims that urge you to act before you’ve had time to think.
• Celebrity videos or images promoting investments, giveaways or miracle products.
• Links that take you away from a trusted website.
• Posts shared by unfamiliar pages rather than verified official accounts.
• Messages asking you to keep something secret or act urgently.

Australia’s Scamwatch warns scammers are increasingly using AI to clone voices, create convincing videos and impersonate trusted public figures and even family members.

Pause before you share

Artificial intelligence is becoming exceptionally good at copying faces and voices, but now it is also becoming super cunning in copying feelings.

That’s perhaps the biggest lesson from Ceberano’s experience.

When a post makes you feel heartbroken, furious or desperate to warn others, that’s exactly the moment to slow down because in the age of AI, our emotions may be the very thing scammers are hoping to exploit.

Out of respect for Kate Ceberano, Starts at 60 has chosen not to republish the AI-generated image. It is easily found online, but we don’t believe it deserves any further amplification.