AI is creeping into every space of our lives, experts caution
Early in Poynter’s community conversation Tuesday night, a visual was displayed for the audience that sparked laughter, amusement and confusion. Here was Jesus Christ, underwater. His eyes were closed, and his crown of thorns appeared behind him like a halo. But his outstretched arms were not, in fact, arms. They had been transformed into beady-eyed shrimp. His body was also covered in the crustaceans.
“This is central to the online experience now,” said Alex Mahadevan, director of MediaWise and a member of Poynter’s faculty. “This is an AI-generated image that was created to basically garner a ton of engagement, which it did. This is just one example of ‘Shrimp Jesus.’”
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Related Knowledge Center: Information integrity
In an increasingly fractured media landscape, truth has been a casualty in the public discussion. Coverage has been warped by the business needs of struggling news organizations, and a significant segment of the public relies on bad-faith outlets that are little more than propagandists. While fact-checking has become routine, some organizations are exploring other ways to combat the trends. And misinformation spewed by AI-driven chatbots has become more of a feature than simply a bug.
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