Conversation

I thought about why #AI generated pictures in blog posts and news articles bother me so much.

The pictures are high quality and give the impression that someone has taken the time and effort to create them. That everything in that picture has been put there thoughtfully, with agency. This includes things like the placements of objects, appearances of people - they all contribute to the meaning of the image that the mind subconsciously searches for.

Then when you realise that the picture was created by someone prompting an AI generator with "photorealistic, ultra highly detailed, portrait lighting, subpixel rendering, smooth vertex shading, (best quality, sharp focus, masterpiece, 4k, ultra detailed, sharp focus, 8k, high definition, insanely detailed" 🤬, and that almost none of the fine details you notice have anything to do with the subject at hand - you are obviously going to feel #swindled.

Treat your readers with respect. Don't do it.