While the systematic brutality of the Colombian police during the 2021 national protests has effectively taken place and been well documented, the photos recently circulated by Amnesty International were not.
The photos were intended to highlight the issue, but the organization quickly came under fire for posting AI-generated images. Amnesty International has since removed the ‘fake photos’.
“We have removed the images from social media posts because we don’t want the criticism of the AI images to distract people from the core message,” said Amnesty International director Erika Guevara Rosas. “But we take the criticism seriously and will think more carefully about the consequences and ethical dilemmas that such technology poses in the future.”
The images, including an image of a woman being dragged away by police officers, purportedly depict scenes during national protests that took place in Colombia in 2021. But after a quick look at the images, it becomes clear that something is not right. For example, the three colors on the flag that the demonstrator carries are the correct colors, but they are in the wrong order. In addition, the faces of police and protesters have been smoothed and warped. The police uniforms worn by the officers in the photo are also outdated.
Warn about using AI
Photojournalists and scientists warn Amnesty International against the use of AI-generated images. It could undermine their own work and fuel conspiracy theories.
“We live in a highly polarized era full of fake news, leading people to question the credibility of the media. And as we know, artificial intelligence lies. What kind of credibility do you have when you start publishing images created with artificial intelligence?” said Juancho Torres, a photojournalist from Bogotá.
LOOK. Army helicopter crashes in Colombia
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss a thing of the stars.