A popular “photographer” who has amassed nearly 30,000 followers on Instagram has admitted that his portraits are actually generated by artificial intelligence (AI). Jos Avery has been posting stunning “photos” of him since October of last year and fooling the public of him into thinking they are real portraits, even describing the camera equipment he uses.
Avery explica a Ars Technica who set out to “fool people”: “Do people who put on makeup in photos reveal it? What about cosmetic surgery? All commercial fashion photography has a heavy dose of Photoshop, including the substitution of the body of celebrities in magazine covers.”
Avery’s followers on Instagram are delighted with her work and are showered with compliments. “Thank you for the inspiration you give us every day with your wonderful portraits,” writes a true photographer. “I stop, look carefully, reflect and, without a doubt, I learn from each post you share.” Rather than admit that her work isn’t authentic, Avery says, “Thank you so much for taking the time to share it. It means a lot to me.”
Although Avery claims to use professional cameras, the images on her Instagram page were actually generated by an image-capable artificial intelligence program called Midjourney.
Avery ostensibly responds to almost every comment he receives, thanking the person for praising him and ignoring the small minority who point out that it’s AI. His vagueness extends to outright denial of the truth when asked specific details such as “What camera do you use?” Answer: “I shoot with Nikon cameras.”
He even hints that he could “record the process” of his workflow when asked how he achieves bokeh, the effect seen in portraits where the background is blurred to make anything in the foreground stand out.
“I often compose and use back blur,” says Avery. “I should record the process one of these days.” To which his follower replies: “You’re very kind. You’re one of those rare ones who really takes the time to respond to every comment.”
Avery also deceives through its hashtags, populated with photographic tags like #blackandwhitephotography, #portrait, #portraitphotography, and so on. She occasionally uses #AI or #digitalart, but they get lost in the sea of hashtags used by bona fide photographers.
The methodology of this hoax
Avery admitted his cheating to Ars Technica: “Probably more than 95% of the fans don’t realize it. I’d like to admit it,” he says. “Honestly, I’m conflicted,” Avery says. “My original goal was to trick people into showing the AI and then write an article about it. But now it has become an artistic outlet. My point of view has changed.”
Although Avery doesn’t say so outright, there are indications that this image is a photo taken in the Ukraine Avery explains that for her nearly 180 posts she has generated a whopping 14,000 images of Midjourney.
“I’m generating about 85 images to get to a usable image and canceling probably at least as many failed starts,” he says.
After getting a synthetic image he can work with, Avery edits the photo in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, which he says continues to make him an artist. “It takes a huge effort to take AI-generated elements and create something that looks like it was taken by a human photographer,” he says. “The creative process is still largely in the hands of the artist or photographer, not the computer.”
Along with each fake photo, Avery gives each character a name (such as “Strong Sarah” or “Tough Richard”) and writes a (clearly marked) fictional story to accompany it. “Emma gazed out the window, mesmerized by the snow-covered street. The winter season had brought a cool, calm beauty to the city, and she savored it,” Avery wrote for a portrait of a woman in a snow-covered hood, continuing with a longer story full of melodrama.
The stories seem to captivate viewers, who enjoy them enough to rave about them. This has been a double-edged sword for Avery, because most of his newfound followers believe the images are real photos, and he hasn’t been sure how to reveal that fact. He’s caught between sudden Instagram fame and knowing that telling the truth could bring her down.
A hoax on the scale of Avery’s may only be possible until the general public is more aware of image synthesis technology. Meanwhile, social media has pitted creators against each other for likes and followers, something that makes AI-powered media attractive.
“Frankly, I’m not entirely sure how to proceed,” Avery told Ars Technica in January, as he grew his following. “The response from Instagram has caught me off guard. Getting 15,000 followers is not easy. The final artistic product resonates with people.”
More news that may interest you:
ON VIDEO | This will be the society with the development of artificial intelligence