STAI CDT PhD students Matt MacDermott, Avinash Kori, Benedikt Brückner and Shahin Honarvar took part in the King’s Festival of Artificial Intelligence with their demonstration, ‘The Genius and Stupidity of AI’.
Their demonstration encouraged visitors to take a photo, and then the AI generated a new image which ranged from intelligent responses to less favourable ones. Visitors could harness the power of AI to see what they would look like as a doctor, knight or even alien and then trick the AI into thinking they were something they were not. The aim of the demo was to reveal the shortcomings of AI to people while also showcasing AI’s creativity and therefore it’s potential.
Matt, Avinash, Benedikt and Shahin found that the demonstration gave them a greater insight into public perception and understanding of AI. They said, “Based on the feedback received, the attendees displayed a keen interest in gaining further insights into the field of AI. However, it is crucial to underscore that a significant portion of the visitors exhibited limited awareness regarding the limitations associated with current AI models. This observation assumes significance as it is essential for the public to possess a comprehensive understanding of both the positive impacts and shortcomings inherent in AI-driven systems”.
They are keen to do more public engagement in the future and as AI researchers believe that it is particularly important. They said, “we believe that a heightened dedication to public engagement is warranted to narrow the gap between AI advancements and the general public’s knowledge and expectations of AI. This endeavour enables people to maintain realistic and informed perspectives on AI”.
Matt, Avinash, Benedikt and Shahin used the DreamBooth model to generate their images. You can find examples on this website here.
You can read more about their demonstration here. We also encourage you to keep up to date with the King’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence which highlights AI across King’s College London and organised King’s Festival of AI.