AI systems like DALL-E 2, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion have become adept at generating highly realistic-looking fake images. These AI-powered image generators can create convincing portraits, landscapes, and even scenes that appear to depict real people and places, but are entirely fabricated.
One key challenge in spotting these AI-generated fakes is that they can often pass at a glance, especially when viewed on a smaller scale or compressed online. However, upon closer inspection, telltale signs may start to emerge - imperfections in the details, subtle distortions, or inconsistencies that reveal the image was not captured through a camera but rather synthesized by an algorithm. Researchers have found that people tend to have difficulty reliably distinguishing these AI-generated images from genuine photographs, often rating the synthetic faces as even more trustworthy than real ones. As these technologies continue to advance, the ability to create ever more convincing fakes will likely only increase, making it increasingly important for viewers to scrutinize visual content and be aware of the potential for manipulation.