Three hands, six fingers, displaced faces: Images generated by an AI often look strange or just plain wrong. Whenever we have this feeling that something is Uncanny Valley
lies, i.e. is not quite correct, artificial intelligence does not have to be far away.
The picture of Pope Francis shows that there is another way Puffer Jacket
, which is currently attracting a lot of attention. It comes from Midjourney, a popular software that creates images using an AI. The result is quite impressive things, such as real versions of characters from GTA San Andreas:
In general, it is child’s play to create credible images using AI. This sometimes bears strange flowers, like a photo competition between artificial intelligence and humans.
But why did the picture of the Pope go viral? It’s the mixture of a person we know very well and the calmness of the picture itself. Would you like an example? Check out these pics that also went viral:
One could well believe that Donald Trump will be arrested here and fight back, but the scenario is very unlikely. A former president fighting the police is such an absurd picture that we immediately question its truthfulness.
Rightly so, because the images were also created with Midjourney. The journalist who had them fabricated has long since been banned from the platform. It is therefore worthwhile nowadays more than ever to take a closer look at pictures. This is also shown by the current example of the alleged Pope photo.
How do you recognize the fake?
At first glance, the picture looks correct, but if you take a closer look, you can see from several details that the AI ​​has messed up.
The shadow of the glasses is wrong. Not only is it warped (which is still possible depending on the shape of the face), the frame of the frameless glasses casts a shadow. The glasses definitely don’t fit.
The Pope’s jacket also has a kind of belt – which goes under the button placket. Sure, style over substance, but that would be a really nonsensical design off the catwalk.
And what is Pope Francis actually holding in his hand? A…a…cup mug? You can’t see it exactly, nor what he’s holding it to.
Images like this will be making the rounds of the internet more and more in the future, so we shouldn’t believe everything we see. It becomes even more difficult when AI images are manipulated by human hands to correct all-too-obvious errors. You can read here what else AI is capable of:
You can’t help but think of a rapper getup when you see the image of the Pope in his beefy jacket. Did you actually fall for the picture? Or did you immediately guess that someone put something in the altar wine? Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments and tell us how you reacted to the picture.