rise
Anyone recall the days of photo filters to enhance landscapes to food images, which then led to filters for portraits? From goofy to fun to realistic enhancements, you name it, you have it. Over time, AI filters became more sophisticated, instant and accessible. We can confidently say that in 2024, most of us, laymen, can’t even tell what’s fake from real anymore.
Filters that not only enhances, but are fun or funny.
From photo filters to audio enhancement to crafting messages to break ice in new conversations, say in a AI-powered dating app, or to organise some thoughts; they are not only consumed as harmless fun, and in some ways, ‘enhancing’ what we put out there, portraying us to be more interesting than we really are.
AI-powered ice-breakers
Source: Bumble
Respect Increase
Normal
vs overly
The implications of using overly enhanced profile images
This was discussed heavily during our interviews. For instance, if one puts up a heavily ‘enhanced’ profile picture on a dating platform, and eventually gets to meet in-person, would the visual mismatch be a cause for feeling cheated or perhaps sets off other alarms for e.g. if this person can be trusted since he/she is willing to put up an almost false picture of themselves. Surely, this can be a breach of social contract?
And if dating platforms are meant to connect people, does AI enhanced images then cause an opposite effect? In fact there is a plethora of such services available! Of course, it is not AI that created this mistrust but given how instant and easily accessible it is, plus the message of AI enhanced photos allowing one to be more accepted or getting more Superlikes or matches, it only attempts, with a pretty fair bit of success, to normalize AI-enhanced profile images.
Source: photoai.me
Sue, Singaporean, Female, 49
A new kind of social media account emerges
Another point discussed was the possibility of not being able to face criticism since one can always get positive feedback on how great they look but in reality, they don’t and they may lack the capability and strength to handle real-life critique.
CHANGE
A new kind of social media account emerges
One of our respondents shared that there is a new kind of social media accounts emerging that is fully generated by AI. These accounts usually portray a lavish and luxury lifestyle or simply borderline soft porn images. We choose not to share any images here because we do not want to encourage further visits or viewing.
In our discussions, it took on a more cautionary angle where younger audiences may be driven to adopt a mindset that lavish lifestyles are easy to attain or are desirable, and will take shortcuts in order to achieve that.
Work Hard & Earn It
It is one thing when platforms or companies openly state that the content is generated by AI but another when there are less honest content creators. And our respondents expressed that they are concerned that they may be unconsciously consuming AI-generated content since it isn’t real. If we cannot discern what is real.
These are AI-generated accounts
Left to Right on Instagram: @emily_filoni, @lilmiquela, @limaiaaa
And with that, a new crime emerges too
“AI "morality" is depends whether it's in bad or good hands”
Namira, Indonesian, Female, 30
Fake dating profiles are not uncommon but with the enhancement of AI, it has fuelled the number and becoming harder for the undiscerning to tell the difference.
Although there hasn’t been hard data on this but there is an estimated 20-40% of dating profiles being fake. This will vary according to different countries and higher due to the higher adoption rate.
Source: Reddit
It is common knowledge that AI learns and continues to learn at an astonishing speed. The mind-blowing video on YouTube we found recently showed how advanced deepfake has progressed. And not only that audio swapping has also gone on to another level.
Even though AI has been very helpful both in professional and a leisure context, there is no denial that there is a new wave of tech-savvy fraudsters making use of AI to commit scams. For instance, deepfakes crimes in Singapore has increased by five times just last year, in 2023.
A simple search will yield many more AI-related fraud cases
“I can now clone the voice of just about anybody and get them to say just about anything. And what you dream would happen is really happening now.”
Dira, Indonesian, Female, 29
When we live in an age where realities become unclear, when we have politicians putting out AI created images to win votes, where we cannot tell if a person or a voice or a piece of information comes from an actual person or a legitimate source, how do we live then?
Jump to
Other Section
Jump to other sections
