Reality Check
Spotting AI-Generated Images: Tell-Tale Signs and Skill-Testing Photo Examples
AI-Generated Image Recognition: A Comprehensive Guide and Interactive Challenge to Assess Your Observational Skills.
Picture this: You’re scrolling through Instagram and you come across the most aesthetic, picture-perfect café you’ve ever seen. The FOMO is real- it has the perfect minimalist decor, natural lighting, and beautifully arranged pastries- you can practically smell the artisanal coffee! But wait! Before you get too excited- plot twist- the photo isn’t real, it’s AI-generated. Welcome to 2023, folks! We’re now living in a world where digital deception is easier than ever before. In the world of AI-generated images, the line between reality and digital fabrication gets blurrier every day.
As AI-generated content becomes more prevalent, we all need to get in the habit of questioning everything we see online. If there’s anything the last few months have proved, it’s that you can’t take anything at face value. It’s getting increasingly easy to make photo-realistic images. And the public keeps falling for them.
How Photo-Realistic Images Are Made
Text-to-image generators like OpenAI’s DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, and Midjourney are all getting very good at producing images that look like real photographs. Midjourney, one of biggest players in the AI-generated images game, released the newest version (v5.1) just this last week and the image quality is just… insane.
Over the past month, I’ve been somewhat addicted to Midjourney, generating around 9,000 jobs. From my experience, it can be nearly impossible to know whether or not some images are AI-generated. While some images make it obvious with something like a hand with six fingers or gibberish text, there are subtler indicators to help you tell whether or not an image is authentic.
As AI-generated images become more prevalent, we all need to get in the habit of questioning what we see and verifying its authenticity. This technology is only going to get better so we should start training ourselves to question things now.
Whether you’re an AI creator or a media consumer, learning tips to identify AI-generated images will help you to separate fact from fiction! Let’s dive in!
Preliminary Steps to Determine Image Authenticity
In this article, I’ll give you some tips to help you identify AI-generated photos, though please note that this doesn’t mean these methods guarantee 100% accuracy. Before we get into the details of analyzing AI-generated images, let’s start with some basic preliminary steps you should take if you’re unsure about a photo’s authenticity.
A. Finding the source
The first thing you should do when you suspect an image might be AI-generated is to try to find its source. Images get shared on social media without credit all the time. Luckily, there are reverse image search tools like Google Images or Tin Eye that will help you figure out where the image came from. Now keep in mind, just because you find the source, that doesn’t automatically mean the image is authentic. But it does give you more info to work with for your investigative pursuits.
B. Compare the images with similar, known authentic images
If the image in question is of a public figure, celebrity, well-known city or landmark, etc., compare it to other photos of that person or place and look for discrepancies or inconsistencies. AI has come a long way in generating convincing photos of famous people and locations but there are lots of subtle differences that can help to give away a fake. Even if an AI photo looks like the real deal at first glance, upon closer inspection it may not be an exact match.
Analyzing the Image- First Steps
Now that we’ve laid the groundwork, let’s talk about the two main parts of our image: the subject (or main features of the image) and the background. I always look at the background first. The AI puts more weight on whatever is at the beginning of the prompt which, is likely, the subject of the photo. Finding inconsistencies and errors in the background can be an easy way to spot an AI-generated photo.
A. The Background
🔍 Blurriness: Examine the backdrop for any blurriness or unusual focus.
🔍 Pixelation: Look for pixelated or blocky areas in the background.
🔍 Inconsistencies: Identify objects or patterns that seem misplaced or illogical.
🔍 Distorted faces: Check background people for distorted or unrealistic features.
B. The Subject
🔍 Hands and feet: Inspect for extra/missing fingers, distorted proportions, or abnormalities.
🔍 Other body parts: Examine body parts for inconsistencies or unusual features.
🔍 Skin: Look for overly smooth or inconsistent skin textures.
🔍 Hair: Check for unnatural appearances, odd hairstyles, or hair blending into the background.
🔍 Eyes: Look for mismatched colors/sizes or misaligned/distorted shapes.
🔍 Ears: Examine for incorrect shapes, sizes, placement, or asymmetry.
🔍 Mouth: Inspect teeth and lips for signs of distortion or unnatural appearance.
The Subtler Signs of AI- General Characteristics to Examine
🚨 Composition: Assess the image’s balance and arrangement.
🚨 Context: Check for anachronisms or inconsistencies in the represented time period.
🚨 Cultural elements: Examine for missing or misrepresented cultural symbols, attire, or customs.
🚨 Social context: Consider relationships, body language, and mood for inaccuracies.
🚨 Historical events/figures: Cross-reference well-known events or figures for accuracy.
🚨 Background elements: Investigate landmarks, geographical features, or public spaces.
🚨 Language and text: Ensure appropriate language, check for inaccuracies or odd phrasings.
🚨 Lighting: Examine shadows and light sources for consistency.
🚨 Patterns/symmetry: Analyze patterns and symmetry for potential artificiality.
🚨 Text: Pay attention to distorted, inconsistent, or nonsensical text.
🚨 “Too perfect” feeling: Consider if the image appears too clean or lacks imperfections.
The Devil Is In The Details — Specific Elements to Inspect
🚩 Excessive symmetry/asymmetry: Check for areas with too much symmetry or illogical asymmetry.
🚩 Floating/improperly connected jewelry: Examine jewelry for floating items or improper connections.
🚩 Clothing anomalies: Inspect clothing for oddities, such as issues with zippers, ties, belts, patterns, or asymmetrical elements.
🚩 Facial expressions: Be aware of “lifeless” or neutral expressions that may indicate AI generation.
🚩 Unnatural/distorted animals: Look for anatomical anomalies, unrealistic fur patterns, or unnatural poses in animals.
🚩 Incorrectly generated electronics/objects: Check electronics or everyday objects for distorted or unrealistic appearances.
🚩 Unidentifiable artifacts/pixelated blobs: Look for hard-to-identify objects or pixelated blobs, which may signal AI-generated images.
I know examples can be helpful for me so below I’ve provided you with a few more photo examples. It’s kind of like a modern twist on those “spot the difference” games we used to play as kids (or, at least I did). You’d better brush up on your skills because up next, I’m testing YOU! Think you can identify signs that the images were generated by AI? Keep scrolling down!
🔔❗YOUR TURN❗🔔
Alright, now that you’ve become familiar with some of the tell-tale signs that indicate a photo is AI-generated, it’s time to put your newfound skills to the test! Can you spot the signs in these photos? I’ve pointed out what I’ve noticed in the caption below each image, but there might be more to discover. Did you notice anything else? Test your abilities and see how well you can identify AI-generated images. Happy hunting!
The Future of AI Detection
Today, AI-generated images still have quite a few tell-tale signs that help us to identify them, but detecting fake images will inevitably be harder as technology improves. It’s important that we all educate ourselves and learn to adapt to AI being an even bigger part of our life. I hope you learned something about identifying AI-generated photos. Stay curious and informed, my friends!
Thanks for reading! For more, you can follow me on Twitter @brittanynpotter or contact me at workwithpotter@gmail.com.