How to Identify AI Art

Reviewed by Luigi Oppido

Last Updated: September 2, 2024

In the modern era, artificial intelligence (AI) has become widespread. Ever tried looking for an image, only to be flooded with AI-generated images? Even worse, sometimes it can be difficult to tell which images are AI and which are not. Luckily, there are a few tricks to figuring out what images are generated, and which are drawn.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Identifying Through the Platform

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Some websites are used only for AI. If an image is posted on an AI site, it can be determined to be an AI image. With social media such as Instagram or Tumblr, it can be a little more difficult.
Most social media will allow images to have a caption that describes the image. If the caption mentions the artwork being AI, or being created with a common AI software, then it can be determined to be an AI image

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Some users will only post AI images. They will often have that in their username or user description
On most social media, pictures are categorized using hashtags. These often describe the image. There are certain keywords, such as “ai-art” or “stable-diffusion”, then it can be determined to be an AI image.

Part 2

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Identifying Through the Image Itself

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Often, AI fails to draw features such as the eyes properly. The pupils may be misshapen or may bleed out of the eye itself. There may be too many fingers or not enough. However, some of these mistakes might also be made by beginner artists. Combine with later steps.
Is there a clear start and stop to the clothes? Do certain elements of the outfits blend into each other? Most artists will not make this mistake. Clothing made by AI does not take into account the practicality of certain outfits.
Is there a clear direction the light is coming from? Does the lighting of certain parts of the image differ from the rest of the image? It could be AI. However, sometimes this might be a stylistic choice.
Do the brush strokes bleed into each other in a way that is unnatural? AI mimics the final product of an artwork, but does not understand its construction. Actual artworks will look layered in a way. An AI cannot put different layers of color onto a piece. This results in a piece that seems somewhat blended— there are no fully crisp lines. A single stroke shouldn’t have a gradient to it— that isn’t possible to do.
Is this a piece with sharp outlines? AI often blends the outline of a piece with the colors in certain spots. It may also make non-sense lines that connect to nothing and do not add to the piece itself. Zoom in to the lines. If they are crisp, they are not likely to be AI.

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What if the AI art is too perfect, almost hard to distinguish?

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There might be special websites that can scan pictures to define if they're AI or not.

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