As AI-generated artworks become more sophisticated, it can be tricky to tell them apart from human creations. However, there are some key signs and tools that can help you recognize the difference.
The truth is in the details. Inconsistent or unnatural features, such as asymmetrical faces, distorted hands, too-perfect lighting that doesn’t fit the scene, or objects that interact in uncanny ways, are red flags.
Extremely smooth or plastic-like textures. Skin in AI artwork may appear unnaturally flawless, which is enough evidence that the image is AI-generated. It’s obvious that pores, wrinkles, or subtle imperfections common in natural skin are missing from human images.
Repeating patterns. Due to the limitations of its training data, AI may have repeating textures or artifacts in the background. When in doubt, check the background. Due to the way AI learns and constructs images, AI-generated images often contain repeating textures, shapes, or artifacts recycled from other images.
Lack of conceptual depth. While AIcan mimic style, it often looks bland and lacks deeper meaning. While human artists’ work often conveys intent, emotion, or narrative, AI-generated work can appear empty or random.
Illogical elements: AI can sometimes combine elements that don’t make sense, such as mismatched reflections, impossible physics, or inconsistent perspectives.
While some chatbots, like Gemini, add an AI watermark to generated images, this isn’t always the case. When in doubt, use an AI art detector. Here are my favorites.
Art professionals can, of course, identify AI-generated work by analyzing style, composition, and color choices. Their trained eyes are able to pick up on patterns and inconsistencies that algorithms are prone to.
Final Thoughts
This is just the beginning. AI-generated videos are quickly replacing images and photos, and AI music is not far behind. The genie is out of the bottle, and like it or not, we’ll be using these tools more in the coming months and years.