Google's Top Result for "Johannes Vermeer" Is an AI-Generated Version of "Girl With a Pearl Earring"

[highplainsdem]

Found this May 31 article tonight thanks to a tweet from AI expert Gary Marcus.

https://futurism.com/top-google-result-johannes-vermeer-ai-generated-knockoff

Earlier this May, we reported that when Google users searched for the iconic American realist artist "Edward Hopper," the search engine's top result was an AI-generated knockoff in the style of the American painter. Google fixed the issue — but not before the phony Hopper had become the featured image in its overview of the artist and his work.

Now, just a few weeks later, it's happened again with a different artist. Google the Dutch baroque master "Johannes Vermeer" — no mention of AI, no mention of a specific painting — and you'll be met with an AI-produced rendition of the painter's classic "Girl with a Pearl Earring" as the top result.

-snip-

And frankly, its errors the second time around seem a bit more egregious. The phony Hopper painting that the search giant had previously featured was an entirely made-up work, crafted in the style of the real Hopper and listed on a third-party website; it took an extra click or two, however, to firmly establish that it was created using AI. In Vermeer's case, though, Google took an article that accurately reported that the painting was AI-generated and gave users the exact opposite takeaway.

To understand how badly that phenomenon undermines the way information is shared online, remember that not everyone is equipped with the art history knowledge to know what the real "Girl with a Pearl Earring" looks like. Many people searching a painter's name are likely students or people with no familiarity, and many are likely taking Google's featured info at face value.

[elleng]

1. great painting. i don't like ai's 'copy.'

[Hekate]

2. Ugh

[Celerity]

3. proof

[dalton99a]

4. Kick