A.I. is heavily affecting our older generations
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The use of A.I.-generated art is fooling thousands, if not, millions of media users. The impact it has had on our society could be irreparable.
Growing up in the digital era has most definitely altered how I view and navigate media. I was always advised to be overly cautious of who I spoke to, shared information with, and, most importantly, what I was consuming. This meant avoiding spam accounts on Instagram, ignoring fake chain mail, and avoiding useless arguments with people on X, formerly known as Twitter. At a young age, I had access to anything I could get my hands on.
Nothing stopped me and my little iPod as I scoured the internet for any form of entertainment. At the time, I could confidently point out the difference between a real and fake post. Being able to grow up in the era of online misinformation allowed me to make mistakes and correct those mistakes by being more cautious of what I was viewing. I became accustomed to the fact that many photos online may be doctored to be something they are not.
Like most parents, my mother always encouraged me to practice internet safety and warned me that I should not believe everything I see on the internet. Recently, I’ve seen an influx of the older generation, generally Baby Boomers and Generation X, who have fallen victim to something so visibly unreal—A.I.-generated photos.
It has gotten to a point where some media users are unable to distinguish A.I. content from non-A.I. content. Even if it seems unserious, a lot of these photos come off as strange but strikingly realistic to an audience that has not had as much practice and access to resources that provide us with easy ways to assess if an image is altered. This is more than odd A.I. art circulating platforms like Instagram and Facebook. It includes posts of AI-generated people, animals, homes, rooms, and other outlandish architecture beyond our comprehension. Under the comments of almost all of these posts are thousands of people complimenting the work of artificially generated photos.
A.I.-generated pictures are not the only thing we have to worry about; there is an influx of A.I.-generated videos taking place as well. The thought of it is scary, but it is even more frightening in practice. Pictures of two people posing together suddenly transform into them hugging one another. As the frames and background warp with the bodies of the people in the photo, media users are unsure whether to be impressed or petrified.
Technology is becoming more advanced, but at the cost of software, which could endanger people’s livelihood, this technology is being used to emulate and target. We also have to consider what would happen if this technology fell into the wrong hands. If people are gullible enough to fall for artificially generated photos, then what else could people mistake as being the truth? A.I. photos of employees and employers, friends and family, and even your professors could put people in uncomfortable positions where their character is being wrongfully questioned.
The very people who raised us are currently flailing on social media sites as they cannot distinguish between real and fake. It is heavily concerning that media literacy is not being taken into account. In an age where it is stressful not to believe everything you see on the internet, it is becoming quite ironic as thousands of users—who could be our parents, grandparents, and family friends— fall victim to another fallacy.