Artificial Rubbish – part 1

Here’s an eye-catching photograph for you from Z F photography from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It has over 41,000 likes and over 1,000 comments on Facebook.

Z F says it’s a National Geographic Award Winner. They have 182,000 followers.

It is, of course, nothing of the sort. It’s a computer-created image generated using an Artificial Intelligence programme from a simple text command. It’s the sort of thing which people can create on their phone having never left their bedroom and then misrepresent. It’s not a real bird and the image wasn’t a National Geographic award winner.

I don’t follow ZF Photography on Facebook, but when I do visit to post my own photographs and experiences, Facebook shows me post after post of their images, which are either AI generated or stolen from other creators. It’s actively pushed on me. Nonsense image after nonsense image. There are even videos.

Here’s my image of a male Sardinian Warbler and his chicks taken in a Rome park. This is real:

With AI, there’s no engagement with nature. There’s no joy in the natural world. There’s no recognition of the cost and effort of being out with camera equipment day after day seeking that elusive shot. For viewers it’s a dopamine hit from manipulating parental feelings of love towards young children which spill out into our love for baby animals. It’s no more wildlife or nature than the cartoon, Tom and Jerry.

I have just 1 follower on Facebook for every 100 ZF Photography have. Follow me here for more real images of the real world.