Author: David King
You’ve probably seen the portraits going around on social media, where someone posts their selfie, and captions it with “generated with Lensa.”
Lensa is an AI-driven portrait app that takes your picture and turns it into a work of art. Since its launch, the app has been having mixed reactions. Some people love it, while others find the results less enticing. But what is really behind the backlash?
How Does Lensa Work?
Lensa is a relatively new app that uses artificial intelligence to generate realistic portraits of people. The app has been met with mixed reactions, with some people lauding its realism and others calling it out for being ‘creepy’ and ‘unsettling’.
So how does it work?
Well, the app uses a database of images to create a portrait of the person you want to generate a likeness of.
It then uses AI to make slight adjustments to the portrait until it looks as realistic as possible.
Some people say that it’s ‘creepy’ and ‘unsettling’ because the portraits often look too realistic. Others worry about the implications of AI being used to create realistic portraits of people without their consent.
What Are the Concerns Surrounding AI-generated Portraits?
Some people have raised concerns about the implications of AI-generated portraits, specifically when it comes to how they could be used to create “fake news.”
For example, Lensa’s website includes a disclaimer that reads: ” Lensa does not guarantee the veracity of any user-generated content.”
In other words, there’s a possibility that people could use the app to create fake images or videos that purport to be real.
This is a valid concern, and it should be taken seriously.
However, it’s important to remember that AI-generated portraits are just one tool that can be used for nefarious purposes. It’s not as if AI is the only technology that can be used to create fake images or videos.
How Can You Protect Your Privacy When Using AI-generated Portraits?
The best way to protect your privacy when using an AI-generated portrait is to always read the privacy policy. Make sure you understand how your data will be used and stored before you share it.
You should also be aware of how AI-generated portraits can be used without your consent.
For example, they can be used for marketing purposes or to create new artificial intelligence models. If you’re not comfortable with your data being used in this way, you should avoid sharing your portrait.
Finally, remember that you can delete your data from an AI-generated portrait site if you change your mind about sharing it. So if you’re ever feeling uneasy about how your data is being used, you can opt out.
What Is the Future of AI in Generating Portraits?
There’s no doubt that AI is getting better and better at generating realistic images, but there are still some limitations. For one, it’s hard to create images of people who don’t exist yet, like babies or unborn children.
While AI can create accurate images of people from photographs, it can’t create images of people from imagination.
There are also ethical concerns about AI-generated portraits. Some worry that AI will be used to create fake images of people for propaganda or fraud. Others worry that AI may make it easy for anyone to create realistic images of real people without their consent.
AI-generated portraits have the potential to cause harm as well as good. But it’s also clear that they have the potential to be a force for good. So far, AI-generated portraits have been used mostly for entertainment and art. But in the future, they could be used for things like helping parents see what their unborn child will look like or helping people with facial disfigurements see what they would look like with a normal face.
The Security Implications Beyond Your Uploaded Pics
Precision isn’t the only thing to consider with these tools. Your uploaded photos are also ripe for misuse in other ways that you may not have considered.
When you give a company like this access to all of your photos, you’re also giving them access to a lot of data about you. They can use that data to train their algorithms to get even better at generating these AI-generated portraits, they can also use it for other purposes. For instance, they could sell it to advertisers or use it to target you with ads.
Furthermore, if hackers were to get ahold of your photos, they could potentially use them to create fake AI-generated portraits that look like you. Those fake portraits could then be used to impersonate you online or for other malicious purposes.
So while it might be tempting to try out these AI-generated portrait tools, it’s important to think about the implications before you upload your photos.
Don’t Import Pictures of Children or Nudity
There are two things you should never, ever import into Lensa: pictures of children, and nudity. It’s not that the app can’t handle it, but importing those kinds of pictures goes against the app’s Terms of Service.
Conclusion
Lensa is a brand that’s generating portraits using AI. Some people are sharing their portraits while some are pushing back on the brand because of the implications of AI.
At its core, the pushback against Lensa is about the fear of AI becoming too powerful and being able to replicate humans. Some are concerned about the implications of AI becoming smarter than humans, and what it would mean for humans and our role in the world.
Others are concerned about the implications of AI being able to replicate humans in a way that’s indistinguishable from the real thing. If AI can create portraits that are indistinguishable from humans, what does that mean for the way we interact with the world?