Way easier than Photoshop: Have a ChatGPT account? You can now create two images a day for free with the DALL-E 3 generator. Use it for anything and everything: A meme, an image for a work presentation, a mockup of your next great invention — you name it.
How to spot an AI-generated image: Tips, tricks and pro tools
Forget trying to spot if a pic of a model was photoshopped. (It was.) Now we can’t even trust if the person we see in a photo or video is real.
Fear not, I’m here to help you navigate the pixelated wilderness. Let’s look at the seven telltale signs an image is AI-generated.
7 signs that should make you say ‘Hmmm’
- Perfect symmetry: To the point that you could fold an image in half and it would be perfectly mirrored on both sides. Landscape photos and close-up shots are prime candidates. Real people aren’t perfectly symmetrical.
- Distortion: There’s usually a little wonkiness or distortion hiding in an AI image. Look at the faces in a crowd; you’ll likely find someone who looks like they went for a swim in an oil painting.
- Unusual proportions: Objects might seem too big or small, like cars as tall as homes or doorways too tiny for anyone to squeeze through.
- Shadows and light: Real-world photos play nice with the laws of physics, but AI? Not so much. Shadows tend to go in all directions.
- Unnatural textures: AI has a way of making textures appear suspiciously flawless (and we’re not talking about your skin with that Instagram filter). Images might appear too smooth, with no natural textures or color variations. On the flip side, it can have the opposite effect; hyper-realistic portraits with zoom-worthy wrinkles, pores and blemishes are also a thing.
- Watermarks: Most free AI image generators stick watermarks onto their creations. You’ll usually find them in the bottom left or right corners in the form of a logo or text pointing to the source site or app.
- Weirdness: Look for oddities like strangely shaped features, too many fingers or accessories that don’t match. It’s always the small things!
Tools you can use
If you’re still feeling iffy about an image’s origin, I’ll leave you with a few AI-detection tools that caught my eye. They’re also free. Score!
- AI or Not: Simply drag and drop, upload, or paste an image URL into the search bar, and AI or Not will tell you if it’s legit.
- Maybe’s AI Art Detector: Pretty much the same as AI or Not, but it will give you the AI verdict in percentages (e.g., “20% human and 80% artificial”).
Oh, and don’t forget about our old friend, Google’s reverse image search. If Google returns the same image from credible sources, chances are it’s real. But if it points you to an AI site, you might want to sound the alarms. Here’s how to check on iPhone and Android.
✅ I’ve got one more trick only the pros know: Inspect the metadata embedded in the image itself. I’ll walk you through it.
😂 In every koi pond of four or more, at least one koi is always fake. You’ve got koi A, koi B, koi C and then the D koi. (That was so bad, it was good!)
Don’t get left behind – Stay tech ahead
Award-winning host Kim Komando is your secret weapon for navigating tech.
- National radio show: Find your local station or listen to the podcast
- Daily newsletter: Join 575,000 people who read The Current (free!)
- Watch: On Kim’s YouTube channel
- Podcast: “Kim Komando Today” – Listen wherever you get podcasts
Kim’s guide to holiday picture-perfect moments
Forget getting everyone together at Christmas for a photo opp and having them all say, “Cheese!” Instead, use words that end in “ah.” These sounds put the muscles around the mouth to work, creating a genuine smile. Try “yoga,” “mocha” or “banana.”
How to spot AI-generated fakes
It’s not just about spotting Photoshop edits anymore. Now, we can’t even be sure if the person in a photo or video is real.
Adobe’s new ToS: When you agree to Photoshop’s new terms of service, you’re letting Adobe look at your ongoing projects for “content moderation” and more. Got projects under NDA? Tough luck. I bet they’re covering their butts so they, too, can train their AI with your designs.
This online tool lets you easily remove objects from your best photos
If you know how to use Photoshop, your photos are magazine-ready, no matter how they look initially. Photo editors allow you to do revolutionary things to any picture if you know how to use them.
But what if you have zero photo editing tools and want to make advanced edits, like touchup blemishes or even remove an object? We’ve found a site that won’t make you look model-ready, but it can remove those annoying distractions in your photos.
Free PDF editing software can hide malware - Try this trustworthy option
Plenty of free browser-based solutions exist, but these convenient tools don’t always live up to the industry’s best. Of course, we’re talking about Adobe Acrobat Pro, Photoshop and others that come at a steep premium.
DALL-E who? Adobe Photoshop’s Generative Fill feature can generate AI objects in an image just like DALL-E or Midjourney:
- Select an area or object with the selection tool.
- With your area selected, right-click on it and select Generative Fill (or go to Edit > Generative Fill).
- In the text prompt box, describe the object or scene you want to add and click Generate. You’ll see previews of variations.
Like Photoshop but free: Try Generative Erase in the Windows Photos app. It uses AI to remove something you don’t like in a pic (a rando in the background) and fill it in with something you want (the sunset). Open a pic in Photos, then click the editing icon on the far left. Select Erase, “paint” whatever you want to get rid of, and then click Erase again.
Threads vs. Twitter, plane ticket scams, & the resurgence of floppy disks
Plus, ChatGPT has become faster but less intelligent — here’s the reason why. Sent an embarrassing email? I have the steps to retract it. Discover three alternatives to Photoshop, use a Gmail hack to determine who’s selling your data, and find ways to prevent your phone from overheating.
4 ways to know if it's real or Photoshop
How do models and celebs always look fantastic online? Photoshop! In one minute, I’ll spill some secret tricks you can use to spot manipulated photos online.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Tech smarts: 5 silly ways you’re flushing money down the toilet
For a columnist and national radio show host focused on technology, you might be surprised how often I’m asked about money.
It makes sense. We spend a ton of money on gadgets, and there’s always something new and shiny. Before you spring for a new phone, give yours this deep clean. You’ll be surprised what a difference it makes.
Tech how-to: Colorize old black-and-white photos
Does your family have a collection of vintage photos you’d like to modernize with color? Maybe you have some old black-and-white pictures to which you’d like to add color for creative effect.
No matter the why, transforming an image with the addition of color can make all the difference in the world.
Hackers have a clever new way to steal your login details - Don't open this PDF!
Adobe has an extensive suite of apps used by businesses and regular internet users. One of the most popular is Acrobat Reader, which allows you to view PDF files. Here’s a safe way to sign PDFs and convert them to different formats.
Patch Tuesday is here: Update your Windows PC to fix 6 zero-days
Once a month, the most prominent software development companies release updates and patches for their products. Google released a patch for Chrome early though, tap or click here to see why it’s important.
The update cycle has become known as Patch Tuesday, and the December edition is stacked with security fixes and privacy plugs. It will be the last one for the year, and Microsoft addresses 67 security flaws in its operating system.
Quick photo tip: Digitally restore old photos
Does your family have old photo albums? Have you ever spent time looking at all the old black and white or wonderful vintage sepia-colored images?
Old pictures capture lovely moments in time, like your serious-faced ancestors. They posed for their first photo with the family’s first Brownie or Polaroid camera. While it’s great to look through all those snapshots, it’s sad to see how faded, scratched or torn some can be.
9 free software copycats that work better than the real expensive programs
There are more features and tricks hiding in your Mac or PC than most people will ever know. You can do even more if you know the right software to download.
If you’re relying on your computer’s built-in spell check to catch all your grammar mistakes, for example, it’s time to upgrade. Here are five stellar options to make you sound smarter.
Use Photoshop, Acrobat or another Adobe product? You need to update now
Adobe’s suite of products is used all globally by professionals and hobbyists. The word Photoshop has become the de facto term for editing photos. Adobe created the Portable Document Format, which is most simply known as the PDF.
Photography tip: Should you shoot in JPEG, TIFF or RAW?
When it comes to working with photos, there are many container formats you may find yourself working with from time to time. This may not affect you much if you’re only saving photos from the internet to your computer in your leisure time, but it’s something photographers must contend with often.