Do you have a clue as to what to look for?
AI-generated Images: Tips for Detecting AI glitches and Avoiding Forensic Skepticism on Social Media Sites
But for now — and as always — keeping your guard up is key. If you need some more pointers, check out these expert tips on how to spot AI-generated images and avoid getting tricked online.
More help may be coming from social media platforms, amid growing concerns about the potential for AI to mislead users. In May, Meta said it would begin to label AI-generated images on Facebook,Instagram, and Threads.
He noted that it reminded him of the images of a fire at the Pentagon that were created by artificial intelligence. In both cases, he says, the first question people should ask themselves is not whether they can spot the AI glitches in the photo, but “Why aren’t there other photos and videos of this event in a highly populated area?”
A few minutes after this first photo of the singer at the Met Gala was shared, another picture showed her wearing a bronze-colored corset and a gorgeous floral skirt in perfect Xena style. If it had been worn, this outfit would not have been noticed. But how do we know that this is an AI-generated image and not an actual shot? There was an event but that didn’t have anything to with the person who didn’t attend. The pop star herself liked the images of the singer that were contained in the initial #twirlers on X.
With a high-profile event like the Met Gala, Gregory says, it’s best to use “classic media literacy and verification approaches.” In this case, that could mean looking for more proof of Perry’s attendance, from a variety of sources.
He said when he ran both Perry images through a widely-used detector, the flower dress came back as “likely human” and the corset as “likely AI generated.” He also discourages people from looking for visual clues in these kinds of images, saying that can “lead down a rabbit hole of unproductive forensic skepticism.”
“My starting point with all images is to not trust the online detectors as there are too many variables around whether or not they give an accurate result,” he explained over email.
“We Need You to Keep Me Away”: Celebrity Deep Fake Photos of Dua Lipa at the Metropolitan Opera’s “Garden of Time”
Sam Gregory of the nonprofit Witness, which helps people use video and technology to protect human rights, encourages viewers to rely on context and intuition in situations like this one.
AI-generated images are increasingly easy to make, and celebrity deep fakes are increasingly prevalent — from sexually explicit deep fakes of Taylor Swift circulating earlier this year to robocalls imitating President Biden ahead of the New Hampshire primary.
And before the gala, photos circulated of Dua Lipa wearing bangs and a corset, only for her to show up on the carpet with crimson hair and an all-black ensemble — and for an X user to point out the early photos were from a 2021 Vogue shoot.
A fake post claimed to show a picture of the singer at the Met Gala when she was home sick with the flu. The person claimed to show Lady Gaga who has not been there in a while.
The Met Gala, themed “Garden of Time”, was put on in New York City by some of the biggest names in music, entertainment and fashion.
“Couldn’t make it to the MET, had to work,” the singer posted on Instagram, alongside a video of herself singing in the studio — as well as two photos seemingly showing her at the gala.
On the red carpet at the Met, she is wearing an elaborate ball gown with flowers and butterflies, and her hair is styled in waves. In the second close-up photo, there is a metallic corset top with a large key handle in the middle and a short skirt of flowers and leaves with her hair straight and tousled.
The photos — whose exact origin is unclear — made a splash on X (formerly known as Twitter) earlier in the night, as viewers at home refreshed their feeds and weighed in on their favorite celebrity fits.
The photo of the ball gown with a note at the bottom explaining that it was created with AI had 300,000 likes and over 70k reposts by Tuesday morning. Another post, of the corset outfit, garnered over 100,000 likes and was eventually labeled “digitally created.”
Katy Perry’s Instagram isn’t the same as Mary Hudson’s: Artificial intelligence in a three-dimensional floral appliqué dress
Even Perry’s mom, Mary Hudson, thought so. One of the posts in the singer’s Instagram carousel was a screenshot of a text conversation between the two.
In a post published on X this morning—and now counting nearly 15 million views—Katy Perry is pictured wearing a stunning dress decorated with three-dimensional floral appliqués, which descends to the ground transforming into incredibly realistic-looking moss. The Community Note attached to the post makes it clear the image is not real.
The Met Gala is an event that a lot of people look forward to, but this time the celebrities who graced the red carpet had some competition from generative artificial intelligence.