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How to recognize "AI"-generated pictures? (hexbear.net)

submitted 4 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Some people say it naturally looks uncanny for them, but it doesn't happen to me, I can't really spot them... One trick to try is counting the fingers, but what else can I do?

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 4 days ago (1 children)

AI is still dodgy when it comes to hands, though this isn't the sure tell it used to be. Count fingers first, but also look for fingertips that seem to split/merge, weird fingernails, and unnaturally bent fingers.
Try to read any text in the image. Missing/extra letters are common, as are nonsense words and misplaced punctuation. The smaller and more verbose the text, the more likely the AI will fuck up.
Check in particular for weird/smudgy text in the corners of the image. Sometimes the AI copies artist signatures. It never copies them correctly.
Coat/shirt buttons. Check the buttons one at a time first, and if none of them seem wrong individually, then compare them to the others to see if they are consistent.
Look at any visible characters' eyes, and in particular the irises. AI tends to generate weird fragmented/lined irises.
If the image has any surfaces that are reflecting nearby objects (not just mirrors, but things like polished wood), check for discrepancies between objects and the reflections of those objects, or for reflections that are missing entirely.

This whole arms race of trying to look for new "tells" as AI images get harder to distinguish from genuine ones reminds me of this Terminator quote:

The 600 series had rubber skin. We spotted them easy, but these are new. They look human — sweat, bad breath, everything. Very hard to spot.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (6 children)

That's a helpful checklist! Just tried on this image from a recent post about an AI-generated game video:

Eyes and the face look surprisingly okay, except for that one deep line that goes right across his nose. Thought at first that he's wearing glasses, but apparently he's not.
Reflections are inconsistent, there's a car reflecting on the ice when there is no car that could cast that reflection
I guess whoever published that picture was smart enough to pick a frame that doesn't show hands... No buttons on the jacket, either
I'm not sure what a car dashboard is supposed to look like, but this does not look right
Weird detail: WTF is that red thingy on the house supposed to be
This particular one gets watermarked by the AI, but I'm trying to learn how to spot it without that

Good quote, indeed they're getting hard to spot, it made a very realistic face for the guy... I guess all I can do is practice to at least spot the most obvious ones. Surely they'll be used a lot for misinformation in the coming decade, I want to be prepared.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 days ago

Another tell-tale sign of AI is that things that should be aligned are not. If you look at the rear view mirror, you can see how the small switch at the bottom is placed off-center.

AI usually sucks at doing parallel lines and repetitive patterns. It is weird to have a grille where the glove compartment should be but if you look closer at that grille it is complete nonsense. It is the same thing with the A column that is an inconsistent mess.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Next one... I think here, the main tell would be how the bridge disappears into nothingness? The thing the other people in this thread mentioned about little details being wrong. And the way how the metal rods that make up the bridge are unnaturally blurry/squiggly/whatever.

The reflection in the lake might be wrong, too, but I don't really know how that's supposed to look. Guy's face is a little blurry, but I could be convinced that that's bad camera settings if not for the bridge. He's wearing a clothing that doesn't have buttons. Right hand looks normal, but left hand is unnaturally tiny, even if well-formed.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 days ago

this is actually just the normal state of infrastructure in the US

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 days ago

Wears a wire under a shirt, lips are slightly unusual if you look at them, elbow on the right hand seems slightly too long, skin is smooth on neck, but that’s whatever. But background is more obvious.

But also, these two images are done very shittily, you can do compositing and layering so background won’t be blurry and anatomy wouldn’t be so wrong

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

That guys's hood is tattered in a very specific, odd way. The fabric also has an oddly smooth texture.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 days ago

The face also lit wrongly (it’s winter, it will be whiter), the edges of cloth are wrong, the shoulder is giant actually

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 days ago

Nice catch! The line across the bridge of the nose is a definite tell. You mentioned glasses, and I think the AI pulled from images of some people with glasses and some without, so it generated the bridge but rest of them.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 days ago

I think that red thingy on the house is their attempt at putting a basketball hoop on the garage.