Before you start reading, I want you to look at the little robot guy in the featured image of this article. He looks so cute, and you want to be nice to him, maybe even be friends with him. But it’s important to remember he isn’t real; his “feelings” or “thoughts” are a general amalgamation based on the data of a hundred thousand human feelings and thoughts. Now imagine (you don’t really even have to) AI creating lifelike imitations of your favorite characters or celebrities you could directly chat with, even call. Consider this as you read.
AI in Social Media
We’ve all seen those videos circulating social media platforms at the moment. Those fever dream, hyper-realistic videos of the Youtuber/boxer Jake Paul showing us how to get glam, debriefing a Sephora haul, or trying on various flamboyant outfits. It was quite jarring to see this on my feed for the first time, in the way that I was very confused.
I understood that it was generated content, but the context and the realism scared me. AI’s ability to create such lifelike videos felt terrifying. It feels like just weeks ago when we all became enthralled with the viral clip of Will Smith shoving spaghetti into his ever distorted mouth.
AI generated content, in both writing and media, goes beyond Jake Paul doing GRWMs. It seems to be everywhere. Making the distinction between human and not has become an increasingly difficult skill (which is very uncanny, very dystopian). You’ve seen it – even if you haven’t realized it (which is kind of the point). Those videos of bunnies or raccoons jumping on trampolines, ASMR – type videos asking what plate of food you would devour in 24 hours (personally, Italian), and even in advertisements for notable brands? Those are AI generated. AI content is quite everywhere, and it’s getting hard to tell what’s real and what’s not.
To help, I decided to compile a list of tips to hopefully help you better navigate our AI ridden digital landscape.
Real life, or imitation?
Ways to know:
-
On people, look for:
-
misplaced or body parts
- unnaturally smooth skin, or smooth textures in general
- bizarre, unnatural, or impossible positioning
- inconsistent shadows or highlights
- unnatural or uncanny movements
- blurred backgrounds, or movements that blur/blend together
- conventionally attractive people (just that AI tends to generate conventionally attractive people), or people missing many unique characteristics or subtleties
-
- On other images/videos, look for:
- unnaturally vibrant colors
- audio that doesn’t match the video
- backgrounds that simply do not make sense in the context of the image
- background text or text that is gibberish or nonsense
- an uncanny sheen or glossy quality to an image
- a defiance of physics
- watermarks (typically Sora), or a blurred area where a watermark may have been edited out
Trust your gut. We often have a sense that something is not right.
Although it’s kind of funny that we’re using this incredibly powerful technology to generate Jake Paul as a femboy, it’s important to realize the dangerous potentials and uses of it as well. With a still image of your face, or just a short clip of your voice, you can essentially be cloned online. And your clone can do things, or say things you never did. I hope everyone reading can try utilizing these tips, and is reminded to stay vigilant and safe in their online endeavors.
Seeing isn’t believing anymore. Please, if you can, try and go outside, experience things genuinely and away from a screen. Support other humans, connect with real people. Now, more than ever, is this so very crucial to the condition of our society.