Which Face is Real?

Let's play a game - which are the real faces, and which are AI generated?

I am taking a very interesting class at Penn State Lehigh Valley campus this semester. It's about AI and we played a game last night in class from a website called Which Face is Real where you're given two images - one is a real photograph and the other is an AI generated image. Your job is to examine both faces and decide which is the real McCoy and which one is a fake. All the images in this post are from Which Face Is Real?

So here's how the game is played. I'll give you several examples of two images side by side. Look at them closely - you may see that the shading is off or the background is skewed or it looks a little too professional to be a real photograph. Decide which is the real photograph and check your answers at the bottom of this post. Have fun.

Image One:

Which one is real? The image on the left or the image on the right?

Image Two:

Image Three:

Image Four:

Image Five:

Image Six:

Image Seven:

Image Eight:

Image Nine:

Image Ten:

Image Eleven:

Image Twelve:

According to the website, while AI is getting better and better, it still has issues with inconsistencies in the images it creates including:

• Water Splotches - The Current StyleGAN algorithm commonly produces shiny blobs that look like a water splotch on an old photograph print - it's commonly seen somewhere between the hair and the background.

• Background Problems - AI is trained to look at the neural net of the face but often doesn't pay much attention to what's going on at the sides.

• Eyeglasses - Current AI models have difficulty generating realistic-looking eyeglasses. Common problems include asymmetry from one side to the other as well as the frame may just look jagged or crooked.

• Other Asymmetries:

  • Hair - Disconnected strands or hair on the face or elsewhere, too straight, streaked, or smudged looking - possibly a strange glow or halo around the hair.

  • Florescent bleed - sometimes the background colors will bleed into the hair or face

  • Teeth - AI has trouble rendering teeth - sometimes they're odd or asymmetrical - sometimes added incisors are shown.

To give you an idea of how far AI has come in a few years, take a look at this video of actor Will Smith eating spagetti as it migrates from the original AI in 2023 to 2026:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygVLDfj2_F0&t=25s

Here's the answer key:

Image One - The picture on the left is real, on the right, AI generated

Image Two - The picture on the right is real

Image Three - The picture on the left is real

Image Four - The picture on the left is real

Image Five - The picture on the right is real

Image Six - The picture on the right is real

Image Seven - The picture on the left is real

Image Eight - The picture on the left is real

Image Nine - The picture on the left is real

Image Ten - The picture on the right is real

Image Eleven - The picture on the right is real

Image Twelve - The picture on the left is real

How did you do?