The recent incident where Elon Musk shared an image depicting Kamala Harris as a “communist dictator” on X highlights the challenges that AI image generators face when trying to accurately depict political figures. The image, created using X’s Grok tool, bore only a passing resemblance to the vice president, leading to criticism from users. It seems that AI still struggles to create realistic depictions of Harris, with many comparing the generated images to random Latina women or celebrities like Eva Longoria.
Various AI-generated images of Harris have been met with criticism for their inaccuracies. For example, a tweet featuring a video showing Harris and Donald Trump in a romantic relationship, with their supposed love child resembling Trump, gained significant traction. However, throughout the video, Harris’s appearance fluctuates, sometimes bearing a closer resemblance to Michelle Obama than herself. Additionally, attempts to create a photo of Harris and Trump reading WIRED using Grok resulted in consistent accuracy for Trump but varying depictions of Harris.
Not all AI image generators allow users to create fake images of political figures. Some platforms, like Midjourney, have implemented bans on creating images of figures like Trump and President Joe Biden, extending to Harris as well. This decision came after concerns were raised about the potential for politically charged images to be generated using these tools. Similarly, platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini have refused to produce images of Harris or Trump in testing conducted by WIRED.
The struggles AI image generators face in accurately depicting Harris can be attributed to the limitations of diffusion models used in the generation process. These models rely on thousands of labeled images to create realistic depictions based on text prompts. However, in the case of Kamala Harris, the lack of well-labeled images poses a challenge. Compared to figures like Trump, who have been extensively photographed, Harris’s image catalog is relatively limited, making it difficult for AI to generate accurate representations.
Despite being a prominent figure, Kamala Harris is still considered a “new celebrity” in the eyes of AI image generators. As Joaquin Cuenca Abela, CEO of Freepik, points out, it takes time for these models to catch up with new figures like Harris, who has gained prominence in recent years. The discrepancy in the number of images available for Harris compared to Trump reflects the challenges faced by AI in accurately depicting less extensively photographed individuals.
The difficulties faced by AI image generators in accurately depicting Kamala Harris highlight the limitations of current technology when it comes to creating realistic representations of political figures. As AI continues to evolve, advancements in image generation capabilities may eventually overcome these challenges, leading to more accurate depictions of individuals like Harris in the future.
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