A Cautionary Tale of Photos & Robots

Why AI shouldn't take over the world...just yet

Hi! Welcome to The Civilian. Sometimes I talk about politics, sometimes I talk about other things, but it *almost* always falls under the umbrella of treating people well.

Sometimes there are a few things that are better suited for a smaller audience—things that I want to hold a little tighter. These are the topics I reserve for our paid subscribers. Today’s email is one of those. You’ll see a paywall pop up after a bit, and if you’d like to read more…please, join our wonderful and small community of subscribers!

Today’s post… a show-and-tell! Or really a tell-and-show.

I first want to tell you about the current state of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in my little world. Last semester, I felt like my professors were all abuzz with the wonders of AI. We discussed it in the context of art history and wondered where, exactly, is all of this going? Exciting places, maybe? One of my professors introduced us to an AI exhibit at MoMA, an exhibit that I was lucky enough to see on our spring break trip to NYC.

Here’s how this exhibit is described by the museum:

“Artist Refik Anadol (b. 1985) uses artificial intelligence to interpret and transform more than 200 years of art at MoMA. Known for his groundbreaking media works and public installations, Anadol has created digital artworks that unfold in real-time, continuously generating new and otherworldly forms that envelop viewers in a large-scale installation.”

Here’s a video I took from our visit:

It’s hard to translate onto an iPhone video, but it was a mesmerizing exhibit. People were, as you can see, parked in front of it for quite a while and completely entranced.

Later in the summer, I heard about using ChatGPT for things like meal plans: “Make a 30-day meal plan for me using New York Times Cooking, Half Baked Harvest, and Thriving Home recipes. Each recipe should take less than 45 minutes to cook and must provide links to the recipes.” Boom. Meal plan done. (Now, if only I had Rosie from The Jetsons to cook them for me).

Another benefit I tried a couple of months later: I had to write a research proposal, and I had no clue what it should look like. I used ChatGPT, (“write a 250-500 word art history research proposal on anti-semitism and Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer”) and while its content was complete and utter nonsense, it gave me a clue on what the format should be so I could do a better job with my own research and content.

So, A.I. is cool, yeah???

Well, not so fast.

When I started this fall semester, it seemed that several of the professors had turned on AI…or at least recognized that it was disrupting the learning process. In one class, exams have now returned to a blue book/in-class written exam format. (Which, tbh, I love, since that’s the college era I’m familiar with).

And, last month, a friend of mine showed me her AI-produced headshots. You might know the app I’m talking about…it went kinda viral. Her results seemed great! Most of them looked just like her: beautiful and polished. With colorful backgrounds! I thought the potential here was amazing. I need new headshots for some branding here at The Civilian, I should try it.

I signed up, paid my $30, and uploaded the required 20+ photos of myself. The photos have to be of you only and of at least the top half of you, which is pretty hard to find (since I’m not a Gen Z-er). Most photos of me are with someone else, right? I checked the preference boxes: I wanted my headshots to have a cafe/library or outdoor background, and I wanted to be wearing a blazer or blue shirt/dress. About an hour later, these “photos” had landed in my inbox. Let me show you what I found: