After announcing the release of “50 Shades of AI” yesterday, I’ve gotten some great feedback, and some recurring questions. I’ll address one of those today. Read on!

Real or AI: Can You Believe Your Eyes?

When you try the image generation tips in my “50 Shades of AI” book, you’ll be amazed at what can be done with AI! These tools will be getting more powerful, more realistic, and easier to use in the next year. Of course, this will inevitably lead to a world where it’s increasingly harder to tell what’s real and what’s AI.

My advice is to start with your own eyes. Visual analysis can help you spot synthetic images. AI sometimes struggles to render fingers, ears, backgrounds, and text in images. Look for details like misshaped hands, mismatched earrings, blurry backgrounds, misspelled words or gibberish text.

Other tells include unnatural object placements, warped backgrounds, or elements that look out of place. In images that show multiple faces, look for repetitive or mirrored features. Do faces in the crowd repeat with unnatural uniformity?

On the flipside, an overly perfect, airbrushed appearance can be a red flag as well. AI images often lack texture, or seem ‘too perfect’ with an unrealistic or smooth aesthetic.

Next, put on your digital detective hat. Photos taken with a digital camera or smartphone have metadata that reveals their origin. The make and model of the camera, F-stop, exposure time, and sometimes the geographic location can be seen when you view the metadata. (On Windows, right-click on the image, select Properties, then Details. On a Mac, select the image and press Command + Shift + P to show the metadata in the preview pane on the right.)

Some AI tools leave behind tell-tale markers buried in the file. You can upload images to an AI Image Detector tool such as Illuminarty, or WasItAI to get a better idea of whether it’s real or Memorex AI generated. Keep in mind that none of these tools is infallible: As AI models improve, detection tools will struggle to keep up. Use the results as guides, not final verdicts.

Get Your Copy of “50 Shades of AI”

My latest and greatest ebook will guide you, step-by-step, with plain-English instructions to take full advantage of the most poular AI tools. Whether you’re a parent, a teacher, a creator, a homeowner, or someone simply curious about tech’s next frontier, this ebook offers accessible guidance and inspiration.

No coding or tech skills are needed! By mastering the art of prompting, you’ll be ready to harness the full power of AI, making life easier, more organized, and far more interesting than ever before.

Click here to learn more: 50 Shades of AI

If you have comments or questions, hit reply and I'll get back to you. See you again soon! -- Bob