In recent weeks, numerous photographs depicting the head of the global Roman Catholic community in unusual situations have flooded the internet, triggering a social media frenzy. Aside from featuring the Pope, these images share a common element: they are fabricated, produced by artificial intelligence technologies that generate visuals based on brief textual cues.
Several renowned individuals, such as basketball icon LeBron James and several performers from ‘Real Housewives’, have recently featured in images generated by artificial intelligence (AI). However, those featuring Francis have drawn the most significant attention. As noted by The New York Times, these images have garnered more views, ‘likes’ and comments compared to numerous other AI-based photographs. This has spurred a competition to illustrate the 86-year-old in increasingly unusual scenarios.
Religious experts attribute the frequent appearance of Francis in A.I.-generated images to a collection of factors. Over the past decade as the Catholic Church’s leader, he has become a global figure, instantly recognizable across the world. He is perceived as a more accessible leader, in comparison to his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who was known for his more strict approach. With the recent surge in interest in new A.I. tools, Francis — who is typically photographed in formal settings in real life — emerged as the favored choice of creators for use in a variety of unlikely scenarios.
Carolyn Hagler, a contributor to Smithsonian Magazine, indicated that the display of public personalities in highly realistic, artificial intelligence (A.I.) created artwork holds considerable real-world significance. Particularly concerning has been the increasing presence of counterfeit images, for instance, made-up images depicting Donald Trump being arrested or Queen Elizabeth doing her laundry that have been circulating recently. While there was a swift effort to debunk the Trump arrest photos due to their politically charged nature, the counterfeit image of the Pope didn’t experience the same scrutiny, and many simply scrolled past it.
The production of bogus imagery is not the only issue pertaining to the use of A.I. complex systems. They also harbor embedded prejudices. An example at hand is the image generator DALL-E 2, which, when prompted with terms akin to ‘CEO’ or ‘director’, predominantly generates images of Caucasian males, accounting for 97 percent of the outputs.
Ethical A.I. Concerns in Big Tech Firms
The ethics encompassing artificial intelligence (A.I.) are under increasing scrutiny. Large technology corporations, including Microsoft, Meta, Google, Amazon, and Twitter, are reportedly reducing staff numbers within their teams focused on the ethical production of A.I., according to information presented in the Financial Times. These cuts are happening in line with broader industry layoffs. As A.I. technology continues to advance rapidly, such actions are alarming to some researchers, causing considerable concern for future implications.
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