The AI Dilemma: Can Artificial Images of War and Suffering Stir Empathy?

AI-generated images have already been used by charities and human rights organizations to illustrate mass suffering and abuse. A lot is potentially at stake as we become exposed to more of these types of images, including public trust in what is real, and ultimately our ability to engage. A debate was sparked when Amnesty International deliberately used images marked as ‘AI-generated’ of protesters in Colombia, receiving criticism and backlash. Other examples include AI-generated images of refugees in Greece and detention centres off the coast of Australia. More recently, similar images have been spread unintentionally, as revealed with instances of images of children in Gaza sleeping on the mud, likely being AI-produced.