How to tell if an image is generated by AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an increasingly important part of our daily lives. The meteoric growth of AI in recent years is now affecting all sectors of activity, and many images on the web are now the fruit of artificial intelligence. This naturally raises the question of which images are naturally created by humans, and which are produced by AI. If you’re curious to know whether an image is the result of AI, follow this step-by-step guide to unmasking AI-generated images.

How to spot an AI-generated image?

The resulting AI images can be so convincing that distinguishing them from real photos becomes a challenge.

Check the human side of the image

• In reality, AI has difficulty in accurately reproducing complex parts of the human body. That’s why you need to look carefully at how people are represented in an image.
• Look for anomalies in the hands, feet, ears and nose, such as abnormal shapes or positioning. Facial features, especially around the eyes and ears, can also be difficult for AI to generate convincingly.
• Watch out for inconsistencies in wrinkles, lips and lighting reflections on faces, as these could indicate an AI-generated image.
• Overly symmetrical faces, or faces devoid of natural imperfections, can be signs of AI manipulation. Similarly, teeth that appear too perfect and shiny may be indicators of an AI-generated image.
• The exaggeration of certain features is also indicative of AI-generated images.

Examine all image details

It’s not just the man who’s an indicator, but all the elements in the picture. Examine clothing, accessories, animals and flowers. Check whether these decorative elements look realistic and whether shading and details align correctly. Unusual perfection or repetitive patterns may indicate an AI-generated image.

Check texts

Examine all text in the image, such as signs, labels, advertisements or billboards. Text generated by AI may appear pixelated or stretched. You should also check that logos present on the image are authentic and unaltered. Content that looks out of place or contains unlikely phrases may indicate an artificially created image.

Use web platforms to determine whether an image is artificial

You can perform a reverse image search on Google Images or TinEye.com to see if the image is regularly online and in what context it appears. That said, Google and TinEye can’t conclusively prove whether an image is fake, but, they can provide valuable context.

There are AI detection tools such as DeepFake-o-meter that will help you identify machine-generated images. Unfortunately, these tools aren’t perfect, but they can still help you make a more informed decision.

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