It is becoming easier and easier for AI to generate credible faces of people who came out of nowhere. Photographs of non-existent people.
Today, a company wants to find a use for these photos of faces by offering 100.000 people's faces for free, with a free license for use.
The operation is monumental. This isn't about offering 100 free photos. Here we talk about sharing photos of people who never existed. Entire social, ethnic and personal groups, photos of ordinary people invented from scratch.
Some images of faces still suffer from some "glitches" which make them identifiable as fakes. In some images of people the subjects look strange. Aside from these photos of strange people, though, the vast majority of them are really, really hard to distinguish from portraits of real people.
This is why they are offered as design elements to be integrated into graphic products such as presentations, websites and apps. Faces of people as if it were raining, in other words. Images divided by group, some of beautiful but alas non-existent people.
Many progress in a short time
Over the past few months, we have seen the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and refinements in the production of images, thanks to the development of the GAN.
One of the most interesting projects is the site ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com, capable of producing a virtually infinite series of faces. Like that project, too generated. photos covers a huge range of ages, genders and ethnicities.
If you think the number of images is impressive, consider that the project is even in an embryonic stage. I'll point out some obvious "manufacturing defects" (the one with the hole in my head I recommend it). They are not, here, beautiful human details that we would like to see on people's faces. Strange photos for free!
Once developed, the system will produce an infinite number of faces that will have exactly the required characteristics, sending models and copyrights into the attic.
My usual scruples
I will repeat to you the exhaustion that there are a thousand ethical doubts about a technology like this, capable of generating falsehoods at these levels and on this scale. And on the subject of AI we have already had examples that open reflections on a rather disturbing future.
It is clear that this project was created to facilitate the life of designers with free photos, but one day it can be used for any malicious activity.
