AI: Augmented Intelligence... really?

[Pierre_Col]

After having explained in a previous blog post why AI was starting to worry me, particularly regarding youth employment, I'm sharing with you today an experiment I conducted for Christmas, and also a rant about the very poor use of AI by someone who is supposed to be a professional journalist…

An amusing experiment?

To amuse my family, I decided to portray myself as Santa Claus: thanks to my white beard and mustache, I do have a certain predisposition 🎅🏻 So I submitted my profile picture to Google's Gemini, with the following prompt: "This man dressed as Santa Claus, sitting near a Christmas tree with plenty of gifts around him and below the tree. A warm and festive atmosphere, with a bright light" And here's the result:

To look a bit more dynamic and cheerful, I then submitted the following prompt: "Another image with Santa Claus standing close to the Christmas tree, not sitting, and with a good smile":

And to amuse my former colleagues at SAP, I submitted the following prompt: "The same image, with Santa Claus dressed in blue and with an SAP logo on his coat":

Looking back, I find these images frighteningly realistic. Indeed, those who know me "for real" know that this isn't my real smile:

But for everyone who knows me, whether closely or from afar, this could be a real photo of me wearing a Santa Claus costume:

So, from now one, which images can we really trust?

I'm now almost certain that in a year or two, no one will be able to distinguish a real "photo" from a fake one… 😮

When a journalist does AI slop

When I stumbled upon this post by Bruno Jeudy on X social network yesterday, I was overcome by a mixture of anger and sadness. The now-famous (in France) Intermarché wolf says "Noèl", really?!?

Indeed, Bruno Jeudy presents himself as "Political Journalist, Deputy Director of La Tribune Dimanche, editorialist at BFMTV and La Tribune, commentator on "C dans l'air"" and his LinkedIn profile confirms it.

So, let's assume he knows how to spell "Noël" (Christmas in French).

But the AI ​​he used to produce this image is clearly incapable of spelling "Noël" correctly.

❓️ Did Bruno Jeudy, inattentive as he was, not notice this glaring error?

❓️ Did he fail to correct it, either with a new prompt or with image editing software, and, driven by the desire to create a buzz, deliberately choose to share this grossly flawed image?

In either case, he gives the impression of someone who doesn't care at all about the quality of what he shares.

It's catastrophic.

Are we going to let what's now called "AI slop" invade our lives?

🙏🏻 To all of you reading this, please avoid doing the same at work; it will be better for everyone. 

That being said… Merry Christmas!