Take this story of an Asian-American MIT grad, for instance. She wanted to tidy up her professional headshot using an AI image generator. Well, things didn't go as planned. Instead of just enhancing the photo, the AI bot went wild and transformed her into a full-blown Caucasian lady with blue eyes.
was trying to get a linkedin profile photo with AI editing & this is what it gave me 🤨 pic.twitter.com/AZgWbhTs8Q
— Rona Wang (@ronawang) July 14, 2023
From Insider:
Rona Wang — a 24-year-old Asian American student who studied math and computer science, is completing a graduate program at MIT in the fall, and whose identity was verified by Insider — had been experimenting with the AI-image creator Playground AI. The Boston Globe was the first to report on the news.
Wang tweeted images of the results on July 14, saying: "Was trying to get a linkedin profile photo with AI editing & this is what it gave me."
In the first image, Wang appears to be wearing a red MIT sweatshirt that she uploaded into the image generator with the prompt: "Give the girl from the original photo a professional linkedin profile photo."
The second image showed that the AI tool had altered her features to appear more Caucasian, with lighter skin and blue eyes.
"My initial reaction upon seeing the result was amusement," Wang told Insider. "However, I'm glad to see that this has catalyzed a larger conversation around AI bias and who is or isn't included in this new wave of technology."
She added that "racial bias is a recurring issue in AI tools" and that the results had put her off them. "I haven't gotten any usable results from AI photo generators or editors yet, so I'll have to go without a new LinkedIn profile photo for now!"
Clearly, they still have some kinks to work out with these AI image generators...
