• Tech Tech

Users outraged by AI-generated image of left-handed person: 'Offends me'

Those goofy images come with a hefty ecological cost

Those goofy images come with a hefty ecological cost

Photo Credit: iStock

On the r/F***AI subreddit, a user shared their unsuccessful attempts to get ChatGPT to generate an image of a left-handed man holding a pen.

The first image showed a man with six fingers, one of which seemed to merge with the pen, using his right hand. When the user tried to correct the prompt, the second image still showed a man holding a pen in his right hand, but at least he had the correct number of fingers. 

Photo Credit: Reddit

Given the subreddit's name, the comments were predictably derisive.

Do you worry about the quality of the air inside your home?

Yes — often 😬

Yes — but only sometimes 😕

Only when it's bad outside 😮‍💨

No — I never do 😌

Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"It's a completely different image. Artificial 'Intelligence' my a**. I am a lefty and AI offends me now," said one commenter.

Another mocked the attempt to correct the error: "I like how after it was asked to make it left handed a second time it goes further right both with the hand and makes the head look right as well." 

As humorous as pointing out generative AI's struggles with hands can be, those goofy images and sophomoric articles come with a hefty ecological cost. The data centers used by AI companies use vast amounts of energy and water. One data center consumes the equivalent of 50,000 homes, and there are nearly 3,000 in the United States alone, per The MIT Press Reader. AI's carbon footprint has already surpassed that of the airline industry and will only increase as more data centers are opened. 

FROM OUR PARTNER

Get a new phone with unlimited 5G and zero activation fees — for just $40 a month

Metro by T-Mobile gives you smart value, whether you need a new phone or are just looking for a better plan.

This holiday season, get a free 5G phone with no activation fees, for just $40/month. That includes unlimited talk and text, already bundled with taxes and fees.

Or, keep your existing phone and number and get unlimited 5G for just $25/month. Either way, enjoy T-Mobile’s Scam Shield technology at no extra cost.

Plus, you can even level up to an iPhone 16e this month. Just bring your number and ID and sign up for $50 with the auto pay plan.

Learn more

AI's vast water consumption is another problem because data centers generate so much heat. One data center can use 3 million to 5 million gallons of water to cool itself in a single day, according to 8 Billion Trees. This is a particularly acute problem in areas affected by drought. Arizona's Maricopa County will have the second-largest concentration of data centers in the U.S. by 2028, The Washington Post reported, but it is currently experiencing a severe drought, according to the Arizona Department of Water Resources.

Another major problem is the social upheaval that jobs lost to AI will create, as Forbes outlined. History shows that humans will go to extreme lengths to protect their livelihoods. 

One Redditor made a tongue-in-cheek suggestion to curb AI's rise: "I think we should keep feeding it its own images and see how many fingers it'll keep generating. Maybe then we can all keep our jobs."

Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.

Cool Divider