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AI-generated 'poverty porn' fake images being used by aid agencies

theguardian.com

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Re: AI-generated 'poverty porn' fake images being used by aid agencies

#3
So Adobe Stock (Photos) has no problem selling images staging visual tropes in global health (suffering subject and white saviour tropes) instead of decolonising their imagery and participating in a more equal postcolonial societies. Money is obviously more important to them than a basic human right such as a respectful and sensitive depiction of people.

Re: AI-generated 'poverty porn' fake images being used by aid agencies

#4
post #2

I suspect that the real images look worse, but make people sympathize less because they are simply too gruesome. Anyway, all advertising is fake nowadays, so it is hard to compete while being honest. Can't blame them.

> all advertising is fake nowadays, so it is hard to compete while being honest. Can't blame them.

Not just advertising but most things that are done online, like dating or job applications. You might be the only job candidate with an honest profile, but if the other candidates have fake inflated their profiles to stand out more, then your resume won't pass the ATS screening because the overabundance of inflated resumes raise the bar even for the honest ones.

Competing in the online attention economy is hell. It's like being in rock concert and trying to attract the attention of the bass player from the middle of the crowd. It devolves into a constant numbers-game arms race between those doing the screening and those seeking the attention, while those refusing to take part in it or are playing honestly by the rules, end up loosing the most.

Re: AI-generated 'poverty porn' fake images being used by aid agencies

#5
There's a lot of weird stuff being pushed by the "algorithms" (I have a hard time believing this is not done on purpose by Meta)

On Facebook I have REGULARLY a lot of "soft porn" AI generated "reels" of very young women (think: Donold Trump favorite age) moving lascively, or AI slop videos of "fake outrage situation" meant to be viral and shared, to make people more and more angry

This is really a stupid use of CO2, of the attention of people, and that's despicable. I condemn people working in the industry allowing to do this

Re: AI-generated 'poverty porn' fake images being used by aid agencies

#6
I was thinking about it, because wife was telling me story from work, where a woman was scammed with AI generated stuff and her colleague was a little too nonchalant about it ( 'it is on her to do her due diligence' ). And it made me annoyed.

How can you possibly make due diligence when everyone around you is incentivized to lie? We do have a concept of fraud, but advertising seems to be able to move around its edges.

I do get the why. Money talks and whatnot, but we are getting to the point where trust is becoming a hot commodity and that is not good.

And all this before we get to the idea that it actually managed to desensitize people even further.

Re: AI-generated 'poverty porn' fake images being used by aid agencies

#7
I’m old enough to remember the Sally Struthers ads…

I suspect that we’ll be seeing AI-generated images of everything (including product shots), soon.

I’ll bet the biggest driver, will be that there won’t be any issues with provenance. I occasionally get attempts at “extortion,” with my sites, where they try to claim an image in my postings is pirated (I always make sure of provenance —I used to work for a photography company). If everyone uses AI-generated, that’s going to be a tougher task for the scammers.

Not sure if “AI-enhanced” will become more common for this kind of thing, though.

Re: AI-generated 'poverty porn' fake images being used by aid agencies

#8
Just a reminder, that Red Cross (for example) uses whatever current catastrophe or war to raise donations even if they don't actually do anything there, don't have access, or do pure stunts like partnership with coca-cola to truck bottled water to a city on a river with functioning tap water system.

Don't blindly throw money to feel good when people who you this kind of ads, check what they actually do.

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