I asked an AI art generator to help me make my friend’s beautiful mastiff appear on a folk art field of flowers. And it did …. this monstrosity. Poor Luna, she’s a gorgeous girlie, but this is hideous and unexpected! Sometimes, when I’m searching for an image for a piece of content, I just can’t find what I want, so I turn to a premium AI art generator to help me out. Note that I never ask it to copy someone’s likeness or to create in the style of an artist or fellow creative. But sometimes, if I need a photo of something really specific, or I have an idea in my head that I can’t replicate myself, I’ll ask the AI to help me out. But sometimes, it does not “get” my prompt and interprets it in its own unique way. Sometimes, those results are stunning. Other times… not so much. Here’s a look at some of my favorite recent AI photo fails.
Cup of Tea, Anyone?
Interestingly, MidJourney repeatedly struggled to give me a person drinking tea. It gave me lots of arms, lots of cups, weird fingers, very strange positions, and more over and over again. It gave me so many funny images, I could’ve done a whole post just on bad tea drinking images. And oddly, even though I did not ask for it, in almost every image, the person is wearing a mustard yellow jumper!
The Leech Collector
This terrifying creature is supposed to be a person collecting leeches for medical use. This hellish nightmare beast is more like a giant leech monster lurking in the marsh, waiting to suck away an unwary traveler’s blood and possibly swallow them whole!
Smoke Enema
I was working on a piece about historical medical procedures, and I needed something not-too-graphic for the bizarre old-fashioned drowning “cure” – the smoke enema. You’d heard of the phrase “blowing smoke up someone’s …”? Well, this weird (and completely useless) medical treatment is where that term comes from. But the AI just couldn’t get it, no matter how well I tried to describe the procedure.
Corpse Blood Transfusion
I don’t quite know where to begin with this one. I asked for a photo of a blood transfusion procedure set in the 17th century. What I got was this abomination. I’m really not sure what’s wrong with the folks in this “painting”, but look at their faces! I think it’ll take more than a transfusion of blood from a fresh corpse to fix whatever ails these random people. It’s mesmerizing and the more you look, the more weirdness you’ll see.
Carrots Are Good For Your Eyes
This one achieved a new level of weirdness! I was writing something about whether carrots are really good for our eyes or if it’s just one of those random things we all believe. And Midjourney gave me …. this. A disembodied eye (complete with lid and lashes) hovering somewhat menacingly over four carrots.
Excavator Bucket Tooth
I was trying to get one of those big metal “teeth” that can break off excavator buckets. Midjourney apparently thought I was asking for a machine-human hybrid complete with a set of gross and dirty human teeth at the end of a metal arm. It sort-of gives me Alien Resurrection vibes.
Catching a Live Rat
I asked for a person catching a rat, and I got a very mouse-like rat in a not-at-all realistic situation. Which would be fine – just a typical AI art generator miss. But look at the little rat-ish blob-dude above the mouse-rat’s head! he is adorable and weird and I think I’ll call him Blobbington.
A Unique Way to Take Your Temperature
Midjourney definitely struggles with medical things. For this one, I was looking for someone getting their temperature taken. Instead, I got a guy with a syringe hanging out of his eyebrow. Poor dude!
Chicken Running
I wanted a picture of a chicken running across a field. But the AI thought I needed a three-legged hell chicken that looks like it’ll peck my face off like the little dinos who got Dennis Nedry in Jurassic Park.
A Confusing Nessie
I asked for Nessie – the Loch Ness monster, and I got this somewhat confused image. Here, Nessie is quite serpentine but with a dragon-ish face and disturbing malformed “arm” apendages.
The Roc
The fearsome, legendary roc, a colossal bird from Middle Eastern mythology. Shown here with weird stone shades (I think!?) and dazzling golden medallions and necklaces. In front of the huge bird is what I can only presume are misshapen, double-trunked elephants. Bizarre!
The Manticore’s Friend
So, this isn’t a terrible representation of a manticore. This legendary chimera is a blend of lion, goat, and snake. All of those elements are here. But in this image, the manticore has a little floating friend. Is it his conscience? His weird little buddy? His offspring? I’m not sure. It’s definitely another chimera, but that, exactly, is this odd little beastie a blend of?
Shark’s Bedroom
While I was debunking shark myths, I needed an image of a reef shark sleeping on the ocean floor. The AI presented me with this, because, obviously, every shark needs a bedroom, double bed, lamp, alarm clock, and wall art to sleep soundly.
All The Tusks
I asked for a cinematic image of a woolly mammoth in all its glory. And I got it. Kind of. That mammoth has a lot of tusks! I count at least five. Two of which are growing out of and back into its head. And I can’t figure out what the strange thing in on the tip of the tusk that’s high in the air.
Happy Cows
Now this was supposed to be cows looking happy and content. And I guess they are! Cocktails, weird teeth, strange square drinks, and cocktail umberella hats most definitely looks like a recipe for happy cows. I think I want to join their party!