The Small Details That Expose AI-Generated Photos
How to Spot AI-Generated Images created with Midjourney v6 (with prompt examples)?
AI can be powerful.
AI possesses remarkable power and usefulness. I’ve been amazed by the incredible lifelike details in images generated by Midjourney v6. However, even the most impressive images can sometimes be recognized as AI due to their perfection and glossy appearance.
What if you could produce images that are challenging to distinguish as AI?
How AI-generated images work
AI-generated images result from advanced machine learning algorithms trained on extensive datasets of real images. These algorithms master the recognition of patterns and relationships within this data, allowing them to craft new images that convincingly mimic reality.
The recent months have seen a substantial enhancement in the quality of AI-generated images, making it more challenging to differentiate them from authentic photographs.
Below are two examples, and I am sure you will find it challenging to determine if they are AI-generated or not.
Example: “selfie at work in a kitchen, dental office, shared online 2014 --ar 9:16 -- style raw --s 0”
What adds an extra layer of difficulty in identifying these images as AI-generated is their sheer normalcy. Typically, AI-generated images tend to be flawless, glossy portraits, picturesque landscapes, intricate 3D scenes, or whimsical concepts like overweight dogs taking flight.
However, the game-changer lies in the ordinary details. When these images blend into your everyday Instagram stream — capturing moments like a Chinese takeaway dinner in front of a TV or a dental assistant at work — they become harder to distinguish.
Given that most users aren’t accustomed to working with AI, creating their own images, or regularly encountering AI-generated photos, it becomes even more challenging for them to spot the difference.
So how could you still tell if an image is AI generated?
For now, AI isn’t flawless. Here are a couple of clues to help you determine whether an image was created using Midjourney v6 or another tool:
Fingers, Toes, and Teeth
AI still struggles with generating fingers, toes, teeth, and sometimes even hands and feet accurately. A quick check for perfection in these areas can be a giveaway. If everything looks normal, the image might not be AI-generated. Although I must admit that some Midjourney v6 results are impressive.
Faces
Pay attention to the faces. Even in the best portraits, there might be subtle flaws, such as an unusual pattern of freckles, parallel lines on the skin (especially around the nose and eyes), or hairs that seem out of order. An even bigger sign of AI generation is often found in small faces of bystanders. While it might not catch your eye immediately, these small faces are usually not rendered accurately. This small detail can be an indicator that an image is AI-generated.
Example: “mobile phone photo of a bird in a park, overexposed, posted to reddit in the year 2016 --ar 9:16 --style raw --s 0”
Text
While Midjourney v6 has made big steps in generating words and even phrases when prompted in double brackets (“”), it’s not flawless. Especially less perfect are the smaller signs and texts that aren’t the main focus of the image. If you can’t clearly read them, chances are the image is AI-generated. So one of the first things I do is try to read the small sign, labels and logos.
There are other giveaways too, like odd reflections and colors, and instances where objects appear to meld into each other. I’ve also come across images where body parts undergo alterations, such as a man with women’s feet or a woman with a lower part clearly from a man. These anomalies can be additional clues indicating AI generation.
Example: “selfie of an average worker on a construction site, posted to social media in 2012 --ar 9:16 --style raw --s 0“
Could you identify these images as AI-generated at first glance? If so, what specific features tipped you off?
Feel free to comment and tell me what you think about those results and if you have any ideas or suggestions you’d like to see, drop this in the comments as well!
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