With the development of technology, AI has become a powerful tool in many areas, such as data visualization and text analysis. After completing the exercise of colorizing an old black-and-white image with DeOldify, I realized how easy and convenient it is to use AI for this purpose. The process is simple: first, find the image, then copy its address into the website with the provided code, click the button to run, and finally, obtain the colorized version effortlessly. However, I believe that this advancement comes with serious ethical concerns.
Think of ChatGPT as a blurry JPEG of all the text on the Web. It retains much of the information on the Web, in the same way that a JPEG retains much of the information of a higher-resolution image, but, if you’re looking for an exact sequence of bits, you won’t find it; all you will ever get is an approximation.
Ted Chiang, ChatGPT Is a Blurry JPEG of the Web, The New Yorker
It may cause problems in the realm of misinformation. AI-generated images can blur the line between reality and fiction, enabling the creation of hyper-realistic yet entirely false visuals. This technology can be weaponized to spread misinformation, falsify historical evidence, or create misleading news stories, eroding public trust in digital media. Moreover, AI-powered image manipulation raises concerns about consent and privacy. With just a few clicks, someone’s face can be inserted into an image or video without their permission, leading to potential harm. There are already many fraudsters using AI technology to create fake videos for the purpose of scams.
But outside of flexing the prowess of AI, is there any value – artistically, historically – to what the company is doing?
These recreations don’t teach us anything we didn’t know about the artists and their methods.
Sonja Drimmer, How AI is Hijacking Art History, The Conversation
Here is my Omeka Item.
I colorized a photo of the chapel taken from the choir loft. The overall atmosphere in the black-and-white version appears more muted and historical, while the colorized image adds warmth and depth, giving the impression of natural sunlight filtering into the space.
2 thoughts on “Lab 4”
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I agree with your point that AI-generated images can be weaponized to spread misinformation! I see so many misleading news stories that utilize AI; it is awful. Right now, it is easy to tell when something was made with artificial intelligence, but as technology progresses, it will become harder and harder to tell what is real.
Privacy is definitely a big concern—something I didn’t even think about when writing my post. It’s not just about deepfakes or AI mimicking voices and faces without consent. There’s also the issue of companies collecting our interactions with AI and using them to train large models. That could mean a lot of personal or sensitive information ends up being exposed by AI, which is pretty alarming.