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Elevate Magazine
April 11, 2024

How to Spot AI-Generated Images

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Artificial intelligence tools such as Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, DALL-E/ChatGPT, and Gencraft can be incredibly useful in generating unique images from simple commands. But it’s not all fun and games. As AI deepfake images continue to spread across the internet, they also carry the risk of disseminating hoaxes and false information.

How can you tell which images are real and which are produced by artificial intelligence? Here are a few tips.

Do a Reverse Image Search

Reverse image search tools such as Google Images and TinEye can help you figure out whether an image is generated by artificial intelligence by comparing it to similar images available online. Through reverse image search, you can also identify all the websites and platforms where the image has been shared, allowing you to understand the context of the image and where it came from. 

Identify Image Inaccuracies

Images generated by artificial intelligence often have inconsistencies in sizes and details. Some images can include deformed body parts, such as having a sixth finger, an extra joint, an elongated calf, unrealistic hair patterns, or distinct asymmetry in human faces. Further, AI struggles with texts, so repetitive letters, misspellings, and distorted texts are factors to look out for.

Overly Smoothed Texture and Glossy Effect

AI-generated images often exhibit an unnaturally smooth appearance. People’s skin in many AI images can appear unnaturally flawless, even clothing can look glossy and plastic-like. 

Check the Metadata

The metadata of a photograph refers to the additional information embedded within the image file that provides details about the image itself. This information can include various attributes, such as the date and time the image was created and the camera settings used to capture the image. Synthetic media may often lack or have incomplete details about this and the image’s origin. 

Anomalies in Lighting and Shadows

Take a look at the light sources, reflections, or shadows in an image. Anomalies such as a shadow positioned on the wrong side of the subject can indicate that the image is AI-generated. 

Use AI Detection Tools

As generative artificial intelligence continues to advance, it may be difficult to analyse AI images with the naked eye. This is where AI detection tools come in. 

AI detection tools are simple to use. All you have to do is upload an image to the platform, and the tool will automatically display a score that indicates how likely the image is to have been generated by a human or an AI algorithm. Some tools that you can use include AI or Not, Is it AI?, and Illuminarty

The Dangers of AI-Generated Images

AI Images Can Blur the Lines of Reality

We grasp information through images, news, photographs, and art that ignites emotion. But when any of these are faked and manipulated, it destroys our ability to comprehend what’s happening around us, which in turn can disrupt our mental health and the way we interact with each other. 

AI Images Can Be Used in Scams

AI-generated images can be used to create fake advertisements for products that don’t exist in real life. Scammers may use these images to entice unsuspecting consumers into purchasing non-existent goods.

Moreover, scammers can create fake social media profiles using AI-generated images to impersonate real individuals. They may use these profiles to engage in online romance scams, catfishing, or phishing attacks.

AI Images Can Power Misinformation

AI images are used to spread misinformation by creating realistic but fabricated images that can deceive viewers. These images can be manipulated to depict events that never occurred or individuals in situations they were never in, resulting in misleading interpretations of events. 

AI Images Can Fuel Disinformation

AI images can be used as a tool to intentionally spread false news or biased information. For example, political groups can exploit AI by spreading fabricated events involving candidates.  This, in turn, can influence elections or sway public opinion. 

Also, AI-generated deepfake images use machine learning algorithms to superimpose a person’s face onto another’s body. This can be used to produce photos of an individual doing things they never actually did, leading to character assassination.

AI-Generated Images That Sparked Controversy

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Fake photos of Pope Francis in a puffer jacket went viral in March 2023. Many people believed it to be an authentic photograph, marking it as one of the AI-generated images to deceive a large audience online.

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Human rights organisation, Amnesty International has been criticised for using AI-generated images to portray protests and police brutality in Colombia. The group had them deleted after receiving backlash from photojournalists.

As technology improves, artificial intelligence’s capability to produce stunning and realistic photos is expected to improve. When in doubt, the best thing users can do to distinguish real events from fakes is to use common sense, follow the tips above, and rely only on reputable media and news sources.