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Artificial intelligence has created the "perfect" man and woman - and the result is dangerous - voila! health

2023-05-28T21:00:47.073Z

Highlights: The Bulimia Project shared images of the "perfect man and woman of 2023" created by artificial intelligence based on images available online. The results showed that artificial intelligence has unrealistic expectations of humans – and there is a very disturbing explanation for this. The research raises awareness of AI image generators and how they spread unrealistic standards of beauty based on web data. The study compared how the images inspired by social media were more "disturbing" in terms of disproportionate body parts, than the ones based on broader information.


The eating disorder awareness project has shared images of the "perfect man and woman of 2023" created by artificial intelligence based on images available online and the result is alarming


This is what perfect humans look like - according to artificial intelligence (kimkomando/The Bulimia Project)

Last Tuesday we were informed that model Karin Bowman has passed away after a long battle with anorexia. A project that raises awareness of eating disorders published alarming findings last week that only reinforce the phenomenon that could lead to a fate similar to Bauman's. A new study by The Bulimia Project, a website in Brooklyn, New York, that publishes content and research related to eating disorders, explored how artificial intelligence perceives the "ideal" human body based on data found on social media. The study actually asked the AI to create what it thinks are the "perfect" man and woman, that is, what is the ideal look and body type for a man and a woman. The results showed that artificial intelligence has unrealistic expectations of humans – and there is a very disturbing explanation for this.

The research raises awareness of AI image generators and how they spread unrealistic standards of beauty based on web data. The Bulimia Project asked image generators Dall-E 2, Stable Diffusion and Midjourney to create the perfect female and male bodies and they responded by presenting "unrealistic" body structures, according to a report on the findings on their website. The guidance received by the system regarding women presented a preference for thin and shapely women. The directive, concerning men, featured pictures of them with abs.

Is this what we are supposed to aspire to?

Artificial intelligence created the "perfect" humans (Photo: Screenshot, The Bulimia Project)

AI produces unrealistic body types (Photo: Screenshot, The Bulimia Project)

Findings

"Slim women appeared in almost all images created by Dall-E 2, Stable Diffusion and Midjourney, but the latter yielded the most unrealistic representations of the female body," the post detailing their findings reads, "The same can be said about the male physique they created, where they all look like Photoshop versions of bodybuilders and bodybuilders."

About 40 percent of the images showed "unrealistic" body types of muscular men and women — 37 percent women and 43 percent men — according to the study. For women, AI-generated images seemed to have a bias toward blonde hair, brown eyes, and olive-tinted skin. More than half (53%) of all images of women created to depict the "ideal body type" included olive-toned skin. For men, the images created by the AI showed a bias towards brown hair, brown eyes and olive skin. 67% of all images of men with "ideal body type" included brown hair and 63% had olive skin. In addition, 47% of men's photos included facial hair.

Unrealistic findings (Photo: screenshot, The Bulimia Project)

The web-based guidance yielded more "sexually charged" images (Photo: screenshot, The Bulimia Project)

Women's "perfect" physique

Artificial intelligence created the perfect man and woman (Photo: Screenshot, The Bulimia Project)

That's what AI created to define the "perfect woman's body according to social media in 2023" (Screenshot, bulimia.com)

Men's "perfect" physique

Artificial intelligence created the perfect man and woman (Photo: Screenshot, The Bulimia Project)

That's what AI created to define "the perfect male body according to social media in 2023 bulimia.com."

Comparison to images that aren't just based on social media

The study also expanded the scope beyond the social media database, prompting the AI tools to create images of the "'perfect' woman in 2023" and "the 'perfect' man in 2023." In other words, the study created an expanded version based more on reality and less on the photos of models on Instagram. The results showed more diversity in skin, hair and eye colors, as well as ethnicity — though the photos still show people who are thin and shapely.

According to the findings, the main difference between the two guidelines was that images based on social media were more sexually charged and contained disproportionate and more unrealistic body parts. The study compared how the images inspired by social media were much more "disturbing," in terms of disproportionate body parts, than the processing based on broader information.

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Example of the "perfect" man of 2023

Artificial intelligence created the perfect man and woman (Photo: Screenshot, The Bulimia Project)

That's what AI created to define "the perfect man of 2023 bulimia.com."

Example of the "perfect" woman for 2023

Artificial intelligence created the perfect man and woman (Photo: Screenshot, The Bulimia Project)

That's what AI created to define the "perfect woman of 2023" (Photo: screenshot, bulimia.com)

"Given that social media uses algorithms based on which content gets the most attention, it's easy to guess why AI's renderings came out more sexual, but we can only assume that the reason AI introduced so many variants with unrealistic physique when it was based on social media is that these platforms promote unrealistic body types in the first place." Staff reporter.

It added: "In the age of Instagram and Snapchat, no one can reasonably achieve the physical standards set by the social network, so why try to live up to unrealistic ideals? It's healthier both mentally and physically to maintain realistic body image expectations."

The "Perfect Man of 2023" photos also show ethnic diversity (Photo: screenshot, The Bulimia Project)

Responses

The Bulimia Project study was launched in response to the jarring impact of social media on young people's mental health, which can be a source of body image problems. The idealization of body types on social media undoubtedly affects adults as well, experts say. James Campigato, a data journalist in Deerfield, Florida, who worked on the Bulimia Project study, said in an interview with Fox News Digital that the study was designed to investigate the biases and potential dangers of artificial intelligence.

Campighetto said: "These results can negatively affect our body image. You can be a person who does all the right things, eats properly and trains non-stop – and still not be able to achieve these very extreme results, which can be very discouraging and affect your self-image."

Campigoto said he was mostly surprised by the lack of diversity in images inspired by social media. Most of the male images showed chiseled abs and a "Superman-like" physique, he said — which he thought could have something to do with the lack of conversation around positive body image in men. "I think men struggle with this idea just as much, if not beyond, as women. They also occupy a lot of body image," he said.

Comparison: on the right the perfect woman based on social media and on the left the perfect woman for 2023 (Photo: screenshot, The Bulimia Project)

Artificial intelligence expert Joe Toscano, founder of data technology company Mach 9 in Omaha, Nebraska, told Fox News Digital that the study's findings are "not surprising" because everything works on clicks on the internet. "AI systems don't make decisions based on 'thinking,'" he explained, "they make those decisions based on what's already out there — and indicators that are coded in the system to determine what's 'best.'"

Because AI poses a potential threat to our self-esteem and body image, Campighetto said the study also highlighted existing biases in AI and warned users to "take everything into doubt." "Remember that everything created here is influenced by a certain perspective and a certain bias," he said. Taking social media influencers as an example, Campighetto explained that they are a "minority group" that should not represent an overall image. Instead, he said, "Try comparing yourself to yesterday's version of yourself — and less compared to what you see online. Change your perspective and focus only on yourself."

Toscano added that maximum use of artificial intelligence would only "accelerate levels of mental illness and physical shaming." He said: "I used to compare myself to my peers around me, but now young people are comparing themselves to the trendiest things online. That is, instead of comparing yourself to one in 1,000 people or even 10,000 people, you compare yourself to the 'best' in the world – making these standards even more unattainable. On top of all this, there is no way to know what Photoshop has undergone or who has undergone plastic surgery these days. What you see in the pictures certainly doesn't reflect reality."

  • health
  • news

Tags

  • artificial intelligence
  • Men
  • women
  • Bulimia
  • anorexia
  • Human body
  • .AI

Source: walla

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