An image is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes. And as AI generated images have become ubiquitous across the internet, recognizing them is quickly becoming is an essential skill in the modern world. It is arduous but necessary.
Common tells of AI generated images include the following. It’s important to note that these increase the odds but do not guarantee identification in either direction. Further, AI image generators improve very quickly and a tell that is valid today may not be tomorrow.
- Low quality source: the image comes from a source with a poor or no track record.
- Watermarks: AI company logos appear in the corners or the image.
- Garbled hands: hands with incorrect number of fingers, strange shapes, or odd positions.
- Skin smoothness: skin, particularly on the face, that is extremely smooth, almost too perfect.
- Strange shadows: shadows that do not match the source(s) of light in the image.
- Incorrect vanishing points: parallel lines going away from the observer that never join together without apparent reasons.
- File name: the name of the file includes references to major AI tools.
- Inconsistent quality: the photo is high quality, almost studio like, despite it being taken in a dirty, casual, or chaotic environment.