I’ve finally trained Facebook to show me what I want — horses. So it wasn’t any surprise when this picture came through a “suggested” group with the caption “look at the pretty horse”. I did. And then my brow furrowed and I frowned and I wondered what the hell I was looking at. This pretty horse was clearly AI art, and while it didn’t have six fingers, it had something else…
What appeared to be a butt pucker in the middle of its chest!
I know. And once you see it, you can’t unsee it. Which is kind of funny because I focused on the strange short front leg with a seeming “hoof” on the end, and while I’m talking about the legs, those appear to be made out of breech fabric. There’s the magic magnetic brow band, which I could recreate with some tacky glue on my model horses, because the band just sits across the forehead with nothing to connect it to. On even the most patient of horses that would be tossed off in five seconds flat.
I’m a huge fan of chonky horses that just look like they need hugs, but this one? It’s a bit too chonky, like the vet would tell its owners to cut back on the scoops of grain. There’s also a strange pad attached to that hind leg, and also, horses don’t “sit” in that pose. I watch my horses chill every morning, and their hind legs are usually swept off to the side. All in all, that’s just not a realistic picture. How many issues can you spot?
I don’t want to dive into AI art debates. The truth is, I have my feelings on the subject, and they’re rather strong. I did, however, want to point out some of the issues. The next time you see that “pretty” picture of a horse, do more than scroll past. Take a good, hard look, because there may be a chance that you’ll find exactly the kinds of things I’m talking about here.
