Photo by Maria Lourdes Peyregne on Pexels

As AI image generators like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion produce increasingly realistic results, telling the difference between authentic photographs and AI creations becomes a challenge. Researchers have released a guide designed to equip individuals with the skills to identify telltale signs of AI-generated imagery. The guide focuses on recognizing artifacts, inconsistencies, and implausibilities across five key categories: anatomical accuracy, stylistic coherence, functional logic, adherence to the laws of physics, and sociocultural context. The research, spotlighted on Reddit’s Artificial Intelligence forum, involved analyzing a dataset of 138 AI-generated images, 9 social media images, and 42 real photographs. The study provides valuable insights into the evolving landscape of digital authenticity.