Eliot Higgins, Marilín Gonzalo, Felix Simon and Valentina de Marval discuss the challenges posed by software such as Midjourney and Dall-E.
Over the past few weeks, a number of improbable images went viral: former US President Donald Trump getting arrested; Pope Francis wearing a stylish white puffer coat; Elon Musk walking hand in hand with General Motors CEO Mary Barra.
These pictures are not that improbable though: President Trump was indeed getting arrested; Popes are known to wear ostentatious outfits; and Elon Musk has been one half of an unconventional pairing before. What is peculiar though is that they are all fake images created by generative artificial intelligence software.
AI image generators like DALL-E and Midjourney are popular and easy to use. Anyone can create new images through text prompts. Both applications are getting a lot of attention. DALL-E claims more than 3 million users. Midjourney has not published numbers, but they recently halted free trials citing a massive influx of new users.
While the most popular uses of generative AI so far are for satire and entertainment purposes, the sophistication of their technology is growing fast. A number of prominent researchers, technologists and public figures have signed an open letter asking for a moratorium of at least six months on the training and research of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4, a large language model created by US company Open AI. “Should we let machines flood our information channels with propaganda and untruth?” they ask.
I spoke to several journalists, experts, and fact-checkers to assess the dangers posed by visual generative AI. When seeing is no longer believing, what are the implications this technology has on misinformation? How will this impact journalists and fact-checkers who debunk hoaxes? Will our information channels be flooded with “propaganda and untruth”?
Full article: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/will-ai-generated-images-create-new-crisis-fact-checkers-experts-are-not-so-sure
Courtesy: Reuters Institute of Journalism
