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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

#41

Post by Spivak »

jncfhnb wrote: post #25

I have suspected that I have seen some of these for Palestine in recent months. Not saying this has any implication on the broader reporting of it but… shit we’re really kind of screwed if media starts portraying everything via fictitious dramatization imagery. Especially on social media.

Any news organization that does this deserves to burn, but I think it makes sense for aid organizations because they want to be able to portray the work they're doing / have done but might have some pause showing real people's faces while they're suffering. In a way a dramatization seems more "humane" and preserves the dignity of the individuals involved.

I've run photos I've taken through AI so I could post pictures of myself without opening myself to being doxxed.

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

#43

Post by palmotea »

lnsru wrote: post #34

It’s really showing the real picture of all the aid agencies. They aim for your money. That’s the single purpose. Because they can’t provide photo documentation of they work on the site where apparently the aid happened. So sad. And many people fall for this scam.

> It’s really showing the real picture of all the aid agencies. They aim for your money. That’s the single purpose.

There might be some like that, but not all. You can't paint with such an all-or-nothing brush. Be specific about the organizations you think are a "scam" and are only after "your money."

> Because they can’t provide photo documentation of they work on the site where apparently the aid happened. So sad. And many people fall for this scam.

You're putting too much faith in "photo documentation." A lot of stuff can't, or can't practically be documented with photos. I'd say the benefits of aid are one of those things. A picture of people distributing food from a truck? Could be a staged photo-op. And there's the issue of "poverty porn," where you take photos of someone's miserable situation so some better off people can gawk and judge.

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

#44

Post by solumunus »

jstummbillig wrote: post #22

Ughhh... really, "poverty porn"? So it's a problem when aid agencies competing for resources towards a mostly sensible goal do it – but when everyone else fakes images, it's not, because... we didn't expect decent behavior anyway? Fantastic.

Not sure where you’re seeing that. There’s criticism of people using fake AI content all over the place, for all sorts of reasons. Charity seems one of the more distasteful applications.

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

#45

Post by gaul_bladder »

DiabloD3 wrote: post #16
A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 wrote: post #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…

TBF, I just assume everyone is lying (either first hand or second) and its on them to prove to me they're not. Hasn't failed me yet.

Yeah, but god it’s fucking miserable.

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

#46

Post by YarickR2 »

jncfhnb wrote: post #32
jstummbillig wrote: post #22

Ughhh... really, "poverty porn"? So it's a problem when aid agencies competing for resources towards a mostly sensible goal do it – but when everyone else fakes images, it's not, because... we didn't expect decent behavior anyway? Fantastic.

Nobody is saying it’s broadly ok to fake images otherwise. It’s pretty fucked up to, say, inject tragedy into narratives by showing victims as emancipated when they’re not. Or altering racial profiles to fit a narrative. It may not pop out as particularly noteworthy in a new age of fake imagery though.

s/emancipated/emaciated/ ?

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

#47

Post by flir »

honkostani wrote: post #26
A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 wrote: post #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…

Empathy is a hackable interface- those that are exposing it, are in this attention economy civil war zone- lesser beings by default. They once where protected by the state- but the state, as policeman- has been continuously reduced in its protector role, by those, who found hackable political interfaces, the ticks on the state wave through the fleas on the people. The pent-up backlash to all this results in a militan…

Doesn't talk like a human, doesn't talk like a bot. Odd.

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

#48

Post by carlosjobim »

robin_reala wrote: post #11

The reasonable solution to this is to legally require every single image and video (or at least those used in commercial / charitable / public sector / journalistic settings) to be marked with a flag indicating the level of amendment. If it’s untouched apart from cropping / colour grading etc no mark needed. If it’s had some touch-up work require that to be flagged at minimum in the image metadata. And if large chunk…

Unfortunately for you, "the government" is not an almighty and all-seeing god, even though hackers worship the government in such a way.

Thus those regulations and solutions you are calling for are simply impossible and it won't matter how much money and prayers you send to the government. It won't change reality.

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

#49

Post by gampleman »

I don't know how to feel about this entirely. Like I get the whole AI generated images bad angle, but on the other hand as someone running a charity I can see the benefit of not wasting donation money on sending a professional photographer to an actual slum and paying probably tens of thousands of dollars to get good quality photos and instead getting usable pictures for free-ish.

When running a charity you need to spend money on things that aren't strictly the mission (such as fundraising) so that you can continue to operate, but every dollar that goes towards those activities is in a sense wasted. Knowing where investing is necessary and where to skimp is the essence of good charity management. I can't really see the argument that promotional photography wouldn't be the latter.

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

#50

Post by at-fates-hands »

SkyeCA wrote: post #28
A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 wrote: post #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…

> How can you possibly make due diligence when everyone around you is incentivized to lie? You can't and the correct response is a total lack of trust by default because that's the easiest way to protect yourself. They really are out to get you(r money).

>> You can't and the correct response is a total lack of trust by default because that's the easiest way to protect yourself.

This has slowly eaten away at the idea that we used to live in a high trust society that has now completely transformed into a society where you cannot trust anything, ever, in any capacity.

I felt like I had kind gained back some control from not clicking on any links in emails and using my phone sparingly. But with this new crop of AI tools, you're right, it makes it a lot easier to separate you from your money and the criminals are becoming way more sophisticated and persistent in their attacks.

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