When Asked If a Woman's Image Was AI-Generated, Men and Women Had Totally Different Answers

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to become more integrated into society, the line between what's real and what's not begins to blur. We're heading in a direction where AI could potentially replace humans (excuse me?), and honestly, I'm not sure we're ready for that.

Earlier this year, the uncanny valley makeup trend began circulating on TikTok.

The uncanny valley effect is a psychological phenomenon that describes the unsettling feeling we get when we see something that looks almost human but isn't quite. Many women became involved in the trend, curating looks that made others uncomfortable as that's how one should feel when shown an AI-generated image.

But some men can't seem to tell the difference between what a real woman looks like and what an AI-generated image of a woman looks like. Just take a look at the video below.

In a video posted by the TikTok account @looksounique, a group of young adults are all shown an image of a woman. They are asked: "Do you think this image is AI-generated or real?"

The image in question shows what looks to be a woman with strawberry blonde hair, freckles, and green eyes.

So, what did people think? Well, the answers were split. All the men thought the woman was real, with one man even asking what her Instagram handle was. Meanwhile, the women all knew she was fake. @looksounique confirmed the women were correct.

Some comments from the men included:

• "I'm looking for six fingers, but she's not showing anything."
• "The expression on her face looks very genuine."
• "She has so many details."
• "Great camera."

The women's comments included:

• "It's just giving AI."
• "She looks cartoony."
• "Her eyes, her ears, the color around her pupil, it looks like it's faked."
• "The mouth also looks unreal."

In the video's comment section, users were befuddled by how the men didn't realize instantly it was a fake image. The majority of users in the comment section overwhelmingly agreed that it was fake.

"For me, it’s the inconsistency of what’s in focus. The eye on the right is much sharper than the one on the left," wrote one user.

Another said: "AI for the simple fact that the phone looks unfocused on the left side of the picture."

However, some folks believed the image was real, but was retouched.

"It doesn’t look AI, it just looks like a photographer retouched it with Photoshop."

Another user reasoned: "It's not that AI is so good. We are just used to heavily edited photography."

As it turns out, @looksounique has made several TikTok videos where he quizzes folks on whether or not an image is real or AI-generated.

In another video, he shows a vintage photo taken inside an airplane and one in Peru, both of which are real. One of the men from the previous video guesses incorrectly once more, before teasing "I'm going to marry a robot."

The truth of the matter is AI is coming at us hot and heavy and while women seem to be good at spotting the differences between real and simulated images, men could use a training course or else I surmise that they're going to get catfished a lot in their future.