This week, international human rights watchdog Amnesty International faced backlash from photojournalists and other online critics for using AI-generated images depicting photorealistic scenes. of the 2021 protests in Colombia. Although there is no shortage of photographs of the protests, the advocacy group told the Guardian that he chose to use artificially altered images to protect the identities of protesters who might be vulnerable to state retaliation.
The 2021 strike – which was sparked by an unpopular tax hike and then fueled by police brutality and other forms of state violence – left at least 40 dead and many more missing, according to official figures.
Amnesty International shared the AI footage as part of a since-deleted social media campaign marking two years since the Colombian protests, coupled with warnings acknowledging the use of AI. Online commenters were quick to notice errors in the fake images. For example, one showed a woman carrying the Colombian tricolor being dragged by police, a familiar image from the 2021 protests. But on social media, people pointed out that the colors of the national flag were in the bad order and that the faces of the protesters and the police were strangely smoothed. In addition, officers’ uniforms were outdated.
In response to the public outcry, Amnesty International has since deleted the images from its social media.
The organization has not yet responded Hyperallergicrequest for comment. In an interview with the GuardianDirector for the Americas, Erika Guevara Rosas, said Amnesty International did not want the AI controversy “to distract from the central message of support for victims and their calls for justice in Colombia”.
“But we take criticism seriously and want to continue engagement to ensure we better understand the implications and our role in addressing the ethical dilemmas posed by the use of such technology,” Rosas added.
Amnesty also reacted directly to the online backlash, apologizing for the misleading photos and reiterating its original intentions.
“Our main objective was to highlight the grotesque violence of the police against people in Colombia. It is important to clarify that the aim was to protect people who could be exposed. But we could choose drawings or other things”, Amnesty International tweeted.
Some members of photojournalism and the wider arts community have also shared their frustration with fake photos since the popularization of AI over the past year raised questions about plagiarism and job displacement.
Molly Crabapple, a New York-based writer and artist who recently wrote an open letter against the use of AI-generated art, condemned the use of the tool by Amnesty International in its campaign.
“Using AI-generated photos of police brutality in Colombia, Amnesty International is practically begging atrocity deniers to call them liars,” Crabapple tweeted. “Either use the work of brave photojournalists or use real illustrations. AI-generated photos only undermine confidence in your findings. »
