The National Party's mini scandal in May over its use of AIgenerated images in political attack ads is an eerie portent of things to come.
The images, probably the product of Midjourney, an artificial-intelligence-driven image generator that responds to users' text prompts, looked like the sort of fare served up by stock photo providers Shutterstock and iStock.
But the odd gaze of the woman looking apprehensively out a window in one image caused many to take a second glance. The strange-looking faces under the ski masks of the thieves raiding a jewellery store were really what gave the game away. National had to own up to the fact that they were indeed Al-generated-good but not perfect. The party defended them as "an innovative way to drive our social media".
National is right - they are innovative. But they are also troubling, and represent the new wave of Algenerated content quickly filling up the web that is going to see all of us experience a sense of cognitive dissonance as we consume words, images, videos and audio clips that don't seem completely real.
Denne historien er fra July 15 - 21 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra July 15 - 21 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.
