Do robots dream of unnecessary appliances?

A typical bad stockphoto of AI showing a robotic hand typing on a computer keyboard

The following is an excerpt from the full article on aimyths.org by Daniel Leufer: https://www.aimyths.org/ai-equals-shiny-humanoid-robots


So what makes a robot picture terrible? Well, there seem to be a few typical ways in which things can go wrong, so here is a non-exhaustive list of the main offenders:

  • absurd sexualisation & perpetuation of gender stereotypes
  • default whiteness
  • robots performing ridiculous activities
  • and just generally cringy-looking robots.

A less serious, but no less prevalent, form of terribleness can be seen in the plethora of ridiculous images of robots using electronic appliances for which they could have no conceivable need. Among the most common offenders are:

Robots typing on keyboards…

A typical bad stockphoto of AI showing a robotic hand typing on a computer keyboard

…robots using calculators (presumably doing their taxes for the robo tax)…

A typical bad stockphoto of AI showing two robotic hands using a calculator and a pen

…robots wearing headphones and using laptops in the classic ‘call centre’ image…

A typical bad stockphoto of AI showing three humanoid white robots sitting at tables infront of a laptop

…robots using blackboards…

A typical bad stockphoto of AI showing a humanoid white robot infront of a blackboard filled with mathematical equations

…and robots wearing headphones, typing on keyboards and having loads of flying neon ‘internet symbols’ emerging from their chest:

A typical bad stockphoto of AI showing a humanoid white robot wearing headphones, typing on a keyboard and blueish icons surround him in mid-air

We have even found a robot using a stethoscope, into which the creator of the image somehow managed to shoehorn a semi-naked woman just to make things more unnecessarily terrible:

A bad stockphoto of AI showing a robot using a stethoscope on a human being with transparent skin

Read the full essay here: https://www.aimyths.org/ai-equals-shiny-humanoid-robots

Panel discussion with head of photography of Zeit-Online

A screenshot of a video conference showing the participants of the panel discussion

The German conference “KI und Wir” organized a panel discussion about the topic of visual representation of AI in the media. The guests were:

Alexa Steinbrück – AI researcher and educator at University of Art and Design, Burg Giebichenstein
Amelie Goldfuß – Designer and educator at University of Art and Design, Burg Giebichenstein
Michael Pfister – director of photography at German newspaper ZEIT ONLINE

https://youtu.be/8l1IpckiKuk