by Frances Martel, Breitbart:

Russian strongman Vladimir Putin took a question from an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated version of himself in one of the more bizarre moments of his traditional year-end press conference on Thursday.

Putin typically holds a multi-hour event with regime-friendly media before the end of every year to advance his regime’s propaganda and allow the leader to define Russia’s political narratives for the upcoming year. Putin’s record currently stands at nearly five hours, but Thursday’s event lasted only a little more than four.