As I had no experience with generative AI for images, I used the free generative image AI tool from Canva to explore its possiblities. When I asked for ‘A Van Gogh style painting of a man reading a book’, it gave me this picture:
As you can see, the image fits Van Gogh’s style and you can see a man even looking like Van Gogh himself reading a book. Looking at this image for only a few second, mistakes can immediately be recognized. Before I mention them, take a look yourself and see if you can find them.
Done?
Alright, so take a look at the book, notice the page? And the desk also seems a bit weird, the top looks very similar to the pages of a book. This image was created without any alterations from the free image generator of Canva, so imagine what kind of realistic images can be created with more effort and advanced tools.
An example of this is when Boris Eldagsen entered a major photography competition with an AI generated image and won. He refused to accept the prize, as he entered the competition only to ‘find out if the competitions are prepared for AI images to enter,’ and added, ‘they are not.’ (Parshall, 2023)
The difference between human and AI generated art (generated in a more thorough manner than my example) is currently still possible to be determined by experts, but Eldagsen expects that by the end of the year this will not be possible anymore (Parshall, 2023).
The impact of generative AI is not limited to art, but also has consequences for other forms of information, like the news. It can be easily used to create dis- and misinformation, and the hype of such information travels is always trailed by fact checks (Reuters, 2023.).
Next blog, I will dive further into this subject, but before I end-off, I would like to give you some food for thought:
‘The relationship between image and truth has always been unstable. One could say that what we see with generative AI is just a continuation of that. Many people will get used to it.’ (Reuters, 2023).
So, what are your thoughts? Do you agree with Simon, or is generative AI like opening pandora’s box? Feel free to share your thoughts!
References:
Will AI-generated images create a new crisis for fact-checkers? Experts are not so sure. (z.d.). Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/will-ai-generated-images-create-new-crisis-fact-checkers-experts-are-not-so-sure
Parshall, A. (2023, 21 april). How this AI image won a major photography competition. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-my-ai-image-won-a-major-photography-competition/
