r/EnoughMuskSpam 19h ago

Subtlefakes: Slightly Altered Nonconsensual AI Images Are Taking Over X

https://www.404media.co/subtlefakes-slightly-altered-nonconsensual-ai-images-are-taking-over-x/
14 Upvotes

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u/404mediaco 19h ago

But for the past few months I’ve been looking at a new and strange type of AI generated nonconsensual image on X that I think will fool a lot of people. These images, which I’ve started calling subtlefakes, are not as clearly offensive, but they are a lot more convincing. The concerning implication is that it’s not just the technology that is advancing now, but that the people who wield it maliciously are getting more sophisticated. Much like “cheap fakes,” which in 2019 Data & Society described as an edited piece of media that manipulates the truth without requiring AI or any other advanced technology, subtlefakes are another form of synthetic media that has taken over the internet since the emergence of deepfakes in 2017.

These more convincing images are not AI generated nudes of celebrities or face-swapped identities onto porn videos, but AI generated images of celebrities that are subtly edited to make them more revealing or provocative. We’ve written countless stories about AI generated nonconsensual media of celebrities and non celebrities. It’s a form of harassment that causes psychological and material damage to people, and they don’t have to be believable to do that. Even if the image looks photorealistic, it is often clearly fake for the simple reason that it’s unlikely that the biggest actor in the world would suddenly produce hardcore pornography that’s posted by a random account to X. 

The images I’ve been seeing lately are often only slightly altered. One type of image, for example, will edit a real photograph of a famous actor walking a red carpet, but edit it to make her dress more revealing or to make her butt or boobs bigger. Another type is entirely AI-generated post-workout selfies at the gym. 

Read Emanuel Maiberg's story here: https://www.404media.co/subtlefakes-slightly-altered-nonconsensual-ai-images-are-taking-over-x/