Pretend pictures
How to spot pictures that look real but aren't
Not every picture is real
Ask an AI to make a picture of something silly, but tell it to look like a real photo. Then look at what it made together.
Have you ever seen a picture on a screen and thought, 'wow, that really happened'? Sometimes it did. But sometimes it didn't.
The AI can make pictures that look just like real photos. The thing in them never really happened. Those pictures are called pretend pictures. Let's learn how to spot them.
Please make a picture of a small hamster wearing a tiny astronaut suit, standing on the moon. Make it look like a real photograph.
Please make a picture of a golden puppy riding a red skateboard down a sunny pavement. Make it look like a real photograph.
Look at what the AI made and ask:
- Does this picture look real?
- Could a hamster really go to the moon? Could a puppy really ride a skateboard?
- If we saw this picture on a phone, might we think it was true?
Hold up two pictures side by side. One is a real photo from a book. One is the AI picture you just made. Ask the class to point to the one they think is real.
Sometimes they will get it wrong, and that is okay. It shows how tricky pretend pictures can be, even for grown-ups.
The AI can make pretend pictures
The AI can draw pictures. Some of them are silly and easy to spot. Others look really, really real, even though they are still made up.
A pretend picture that looks like a real photo has a special name. Grown-ups call it a deepfake. It is a bit like a magic trick, but done with a computer.
Say you see a picture of a cow flying a plane. The cow has not really flown. It never happened. The AI just made it up.
Show the class three pictures. Two are real photos from books. One is a pretend AI picture (something like a cat wearing a chef's hat cooking dinner). Ask the class to point at the pretend one.
Then talk about which clues gave it away. Was it the hat? The pan? The way the cat was standing?
It can be tricky to tell
Some pretend pictures are really, really good. Even grown-ups can be fooled by them.
But there are little clues we can look for. Tap each card to see one.
Tap each card to see a clue.
Count the fingers
The AI sometimes draws hands with too many fingers. Sometimes the fingers bend the wrong way. Look at the hands first.
Is it too silly?
A pig flying a plane. A shark in a swimming pool with a hat on. If it looks too silly to be true, it probably is.
Does it feel a bit odd?
A smile that is a bit too big. Eyes that are a bit too shiny. Sometimes something just looks wrong. Trust your feeling.
The clues do not always work. Sometimes the pretend pictures are so good that no one can tell. That is why we have a big rule for tricky pictures. It comes up in the next section.
Show the class one AI picture with a small mistake in it. Good ones to use are hands with too many fingers, or a background where things do not quite line up.
Give pupils 30 seconds to spot something odd. Then reveal the clue. Do a couple more if you have time.
Ask a grown-up you trust
Here is the big rule. You see a picture on a screen. You are not sure if it is real. Ask a grown-up you trust.
A grown-up can help you check. They might do a search on the computer. They might ask a friend. They might just say, 'that one is definitely pretend'.
You do not have to work it out on your own. Asking for help is the smart thing to do.
Ask the class to think of grown-ups they trust. Mums, dads, teachers, older brothers or sisters, grandparents. Write them on the board as a list.
Say: 'if you ever see something on a screen and you are not sure, any of these people can help you check.'