AI Painting App Branded ‘Racist’ For Lightening People Of Colors’ Skin
Image via moonnoor / Shutterstock.com
Wonder what you’d look like as a masterpiece? Hopefully, it won’t deviate too far from your own appearance.
A new app sweeping the internet, called AI Gahaku, uses artificial intelligence to generate photos that resemble old paintings. According to Indy100, the “paintings” mimic “19th-century realism or Impressionism” artworks.
It seems to be a popular hit, except that it has one issue. AI Gahaku has difficulty recognizing features on people of color. Social media users have thus branded the app “racist,” as the software appears to only be able to turn people of color Caucasian.
One Twitter user tested a photo of Naomi Campbell, and the result saw a painting of a white girl with blonde hair, far from Campbell’s actual features. “The AI renaissance painting thing, it’s racist,” another Twitter user said.
According to Indy100, the reason the AI works this way is probably due to “biases baked into codes” fed by raw data and human programming. Due to the lack of representation of black and brown people in art, AI Gahaku might tend to pick such cues from its “historical precedent.”
I'm generating photos into canvas renaissance painting. Like this tweet if you want one. (char haha pero true bitaw kay bored ko) pic.twitter.com/or8LotorGn
— cornelia (@chaaaguilar) April 2, 2020
safe to say she's now a renaissance painting pic.twitter.com/94tGYH4e6Q
— ｆ ｅ ｒ ｇ (@lgbtsagelyn) April 1, 2020
Benedict Cumberbatch as Renaissance painting; a thread pic.twitter.com/lc3tXxMYjs
— dra stranja (@bencwings) April 1, 2020
Putting Joe Exotic into the Renaissance painting app is already the best thing I’ve done today. pic.twitter.com/mbezY1W6wh
— Lizz ⚡️ (@LizzFree_OrDie) April 1, 2020
everyone loves Renaissance Painting Algorithm, a lovely algorithm that makes you look like a renaissance painting! *5 seconds later* We regret to inform you the algorithm is racist
— madeleine hindes (@madeleinelily) April 1, 2020
The AI Gahaku “renaissance painting AI generator” is racist AF. It made me way paler than I am IRL so I decided to see what it would do to a far darker POC. Here is Naomi Campbell: pic.twitter.com/KxeMUOecv9
— 🌲 sydnee wagner 🌲 (@sydneeisanelf) April 2, 2020
fam..... what the hELL is this shit pic.twitter.com/IQ2szqMhKR
— make the rich pay for COVID-19 (@JAACable) April 1, 2020
the ai renaissance painting thing,,, yea it’s racist
— persephone🦪 (@chateaumargiela) April 1, 2020
That renaissance app hates me pic.twitter.com/XOn6WfpmZ4
— Jesse (@Skinnty_) March 31, 2020
[via Indy 100, opening image via AI Gahaku]
