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All these previous innovations pale in the face of tools likeMidJourney,DALL-E, andAdobe Firefly.
When Midjourney builds an image, there are no easily identifiable sources, mediums, or artists.
Midjourney created this flooded Manhattan image based on my prompt.
What we see can no longer be believed.
Without intention, Generative AI imagery has dismantled the concept of “Seeing is believing.”
And this tipping point in Generative AI imagery could not come at a worse moment.
Midjourney created this flooded Manhattan image based on my prompt.
Truth and the purveyors of reality have been under attack for years.
Few take the media at face value.
Even officials, once the parental figures of society, are no longer trusted.
Four images Midjourney spit out in under a minute based on my prompt.
Into this vacuum of truth enters modern and nearly mature Generative AI.
AI image generation at this level is unquestionably fun, exciting, entertaining, and dangerous.
It’s a tool like any other and tends to be a reflection of whoever is using it.
People with good intentions will use Generative AI imagery for good.
It’s a productivity tool.
Those with bad intentions will use it to spread disinformation and lies.
And we will believe them.
Fallible humans
Humans are not built to recognize truth.
We react to what we see, hear, touch, and feel.
Much of our information comes to us through sight.
What we see is what we believe.
If that weren’t the case, something as simple as movies would fail.
Film is still frames and our brains blend it all into a believable whole.
No one is moving fluidly in front of us when we watch TV and movies.
Instead, they’re stutter-stepping at a frame rate.
The faster the FPS, the smoother the action.
But it’s not real.
We’re all easily manipulated and that’s why we pay good money and agree to the experience.
Generative AI images use our vulnerability without permission.
It presents images that, however implausible, look perfectly real and therefore become plausible to us.
The concern here is not just about static images.Midjourney is now training its AI for video creation.
Ultimately, seeing is no longer believing.
What you see on a screen may or may not represent the truth.
Examine the image for anomalies or even too much perfection.
Look for pores on the skin (or lack thereof).
Examine the background, which I’ve noticed is where generative AI can do its most slipshod work.
If all else fails, start doing your own research.
In this age of generative AI imagery, we can’t accept anything at face value.
To protect ourselves and each other, we must become truth hunters.
