The Latest AI Art Trend Lacks Authenticity, Reflects Racist Stereotypes!
This is sucky!
Have you seen the various AI-created photos depicting Indian men, women, and their weddings from different states? They have recently flooded the internet and people are not happy with them. The outrage is over the depiction of the Bengali and Gujarati couple at their wedding. But why are people so furious? How does AI create these pictures? And does it depict reality or is it just a manifestation of our own stereotypes?
Arunachal Pradesh pic.twitter.com/sm4aHzpnqF
— ਕਿੱਕਰਸਿੰਘਖਤ੍ਰੀ (@baghardh) January 1, 2023
AI or artificial intelligence is the new technology which is taking over the world. AI simply is the way machines and computers think, calculate, interact and perceive the world. The way machines understand our world is based on the data it is fed. And where does this data come from? Us, of course.
Using this data AI creates an image of our reality which might or might not be similar to reality. Often the authenticity of the data AI uses is questionable because it all depends on where the data is coming from. So if the person who is feeding in the data has his own biases, the picture created by the AI could actually pick up on stereotypes to create it. Most images created by AI that are floating around on the internet seem to lack authenticity and reflect society’s biases.
AI generated, wedding photos from Indian states.
1/n
Panjabi couples. pic.twitter.com/YsxmUZU1y5— ਕਿੱਕਰਸਿੰਘਖਤ੍ਰੀ (@baghardh) December 30, 2022
This topic came into the spotlight because of the latest trend of AI-created pictures. The recent addition to this trend is a Twitter thread by @baghardh which shows the depiction of Indian couples on their wedding day from different states like Punjab, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh among others.
Kerala.
Regenerated without using word “south Indian” pic.twitter.com/LYiPECPiQS— ਕਿੱਕਰਸਿੰਘਖਤ੍ਰੀ (@baghardh) January 1, 2023
Among these were the pictures of a Gujarati couple which especially enraged people because of its stereotypical depiction of an obese couple, and a bald groom and the draping style of the saree is completely bizarre. This depiction can be attributed to the often-associated affluence of Gujaratis. But the depiction of the couple to be obese is far from reality, not all Gujaratis have a fat belly and a bald head.
Gujarati pic.twitter.com/OyEZDcpOYJ
— ਕਿੱਕਰਸਿੰਘਖਤ੍ਰੀ (@baghardh) December 30, 2022
Another totally absurd image was of the Bengali couple. The weirdest aspect of the picture was the special appearance of a huge fish, this shows how Bengal is usually associated with fish by most people. Bengali weddings in reality are so beautiful. The AI-created image doesn’t even include the authentic wedding attire or customs of Bengali weddings.
Bengali ❤️ pic.twitter.com/aWI4vYEJAZ
— ਕਿੱਕਰਸਿੰਘਖਤ੍ਰੀ (@baghardh) December 31, 2022
These images don’t showcase the reality and are not even a true generalisation of weddings in different states. They are just a picturisation of the common stereotypes associated with different states in India. These images are a reality check of how the different states are perceived by most people and hence AI has associated these stereotypes with the states which are far from reality. Another very common factor is that the actresses and influencers who tried the Lensa AI trend, their pictures also showed a lot of skin because that’s the perception of beauty. Why are things like this?
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This can also be seen in the various other images created by AI which were based on stereotypes like the images of an Indian man and woman created by a Delhi-based artist; and also the images of women from different states in India, they are based on the common stereotypes related to the different states.
5/ Goa pic.twitter.com/ur4AHfl7T7
— Madhav Kohli (@mvdhav) December 27, 2022
7/ West Bengal pic.twitter.com/uzB7HA7wjF
— Madhav Kohli (@mvdhav) December 29, 2022
Also Read: Artist Makes AI Artwork Of Indian Men, People Spot Chunky Panday!
AI is a futuristic technology which shouldn’t be attached to these age-old stereotypes and therefore there is an urgent need to change the data our computers are fed by us. These stereotypes shouldn’t be allowed to rule over the world anymore, especially not the way our computers think and perceive us. This needs to change, doesn’t it?
First Published: January 05, 2023 9:33 AMArtist’s AI Artwork Of Indian Women Reminds Internet Of Smita Patil
