AI images are spoiling Google Image search results, at least that’s according to some creatives who have been sharing screenshots of AI images mixed in with real photos on Google.
The debate was sparked after X user @notengopris shared a screenshot showing that out of fifteen search results for “baby peacock,” only four images were real, while the rest were AI-generated.
Search engines need an option to filter out AI-generated content and legislation needs to get on establishing and enforcing AI guidelines—before search engines like Google become entirely unreliable. https://t.co/ascK9YsYZN
— sam slade 🍔 (@itsSamSlade) October 7, 2024
When PetaPixel searched for “baby peacock”, Google returned several AI images although ironically some are now Snopes articles debunking the images.
The timeline of these images is actually quite fascinating: someone created a video of a baby peacock and clearly marked it as AI. But then another social media user takes the video and posts it as if it’s real (see below), fooling some people. The image winds up on Google Image search under the term “baby peacock”.
This gorgeous baby peacock made my heart smile 🥰🥰
Good morning my beautiful friends ☀️😍pic.twitter.com/dT24dJ4Sc4— Miti 💙🕊️ (@Miti_Blue) September 20, 2024
Creative Bloq reports that on the r/graphic_design subreddit, users have been expressing dismay over how AI-generated “slop” has infiltrated websites they previously used for inspiration. One graphic design student lamented the growing difficulty in finding quality reference images, while others criticized the technology as a net-negative development. For many artists and photographers, Google serves as a crucial source of reference material, and the inability to distinguish real images from AI-generated ones undermines the creative process.
AI has officially killed the ability to find good reference images from a google search. cool. pic.twitter.com/2ZvdZR0ZiF
— mcres (@mcres9) September 30, 2024
This is not the first time PetaPixel has reported on AI images affecting Google Image search, last year a bizarre imagined selfie of Tiananmen Square’s Tank Man rose to the top of Google so too did results for the singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole’.
Quite what anyone can do about this problem remains a mystery, AI image detectors and provenance systems are falling spectacularly short of the mark. The current situation is bleak with millions of people being hoodwinked online by fake imagery.
The issue was spotlighted recently when, in the wake of Hurricane Helene, AI-generated images purporting to show victims went viral.
The potential impact this has is people questioning all types of media and feelings of betrayal after falling for a fake image.
