Grace Ashiru
Google is adding a new “About this image” tool to its image search. Users can determine if AI made a picture and where it first appeared online. This will let Africans check for themselves where pictures made by AI came from.
As tools for artificial intelligence make it easier to create fake pictures that look real, Google is adding a new feature to its image search to stop the spread of false information. This feature will help stop the spread of incorrect information, like the popular picture of the Pope in a puffer jacket, which was made by AI but was misleading.
The new feature, “About this image,” will give users more information about an image, such as when it was indexed on Google, where it first appeared, and whether or not it is on other online platforms.
The main goal of this feature is to help users figure out where an image came from in the first place. It also gives the picture context by using debunking evidence from news organizations.
According to a post on its blog, Google is working with sites like Midjourney and Shutterstock to ensure that their AI-generated content is labeled as such. Google will also do this for every picture its tools make using AI.
Notably, the ‘About this picture’ feature came out when Google was about to release its text-to-image generator. The company says this tool will have information to let people know that AI made the pictures.
AI-generated Images in Africa
There hasn’t been much use of AI-made images in Africa to share false information or misinformation. But there have been times when Africans used real or digitally changed pictures on purpose to trick others, especially for political reasons.
Google has given organizations that check facts, tools, and money to help ensure that published pictures and news are accompanied by accurate context information. More recently, Google gave $2,000,000 to Nigeria Fact Checkers to use artificial intelligence (AI) to fight misinformation during the general elections that had just ended.
AI-made pictures could have a significant impact in Africa, especially since technology is becoming more popular and easier to use. The future Google tool will give Africans even more power by letting them check the authenticity and origin of images on their own.
Click here to read the original article
