Google is developing a tool to detect fake AI images after the Pope's down jacket went viral

Photos of the Pope in a white down jacket were created using the Midjourney artificial intelligence tool Credit: u/trippy_art_special

Google has launched a new tool to help people to identify fake AI images online, following warnings that the technology could be a source of misinformation.

Users of Google Image Search will now be able to see «additional context» next to images, including information about when the image first appeared on Google and any news related to it. The tool called «About this image» is intended to publish news about fake images that were subsequently debunked.

The launch of the new tool comes after several realistic-looking fake images went viral on the Internet. Internet, including AI-generated images showing Donald Trump being arrested.

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Tools such as OpenAI's Midjourney, Stable Diffusion and DALL-E can be used to create hyper-realistic depictions of situations that never actually happened with just a few prompts, words and phrases.

Service Staff Security Council, including British director of cybersecurity Sir Jeremy Fleming, warned that new AI tools like these could have potentially devastating effects on disinformation and propaganda.

One of the first major demonstrations of the new technology was an image of the Pope in a white down jacket, which went viral in March.

A builder from Chicago stated that he created the picture «trying to figure out how to make something funny.» Pablo Xavier told Buzzfeed in March that he used the Midjourney artificial intelligence tool, adding: «I just thought it would be fun to see the Pope in a funny jacket.»

Eliot Higgins used an artificial intelligence image generator to simulate photographs of Donald Trump's arrest. Photo: Eliot Higgins. this year. Eliot Higgins, co-founder of investigative journalism website Bellingcat, created the images using Midjourney.

Corey Danton, Google Product Manager for Search, said: “With this background information on the image, you can get a better understanding of what is the image reliable, or do you need to take a second look.”

Google is playing catch-up in the AI ​​race after Microsoft-backed ChatGPT became a global sensation late last year.