Google’s AI-Generated Mushroom Images Could Pose Serious Risks for Foragers
"AI-generated images of mushrooms that look nothing like the real species could spread misleading and dangerous information" - writes Emanuel Maiberg on 404 Media
Google is displaying AI-generated images of mushrooms in search results, a potentially dangerous mistake for foragers relying on accurate visuals to identify safe species. The issue, flagged by MycoMutant, a moderator of the r/mycology Reddit community, involves an AI image incorrectly labeled as the edible mushroom Coprinus comatus. The image, sourced from Freepik, was clearly marked as AI-generated, yet Google presented it as genuine. Mislabeling like this increases the risk of mushroom misidentification, which can lead to severe health consequences for foragers. MycoMutant has seen similar errors before, with non-AI images also misrepresenting other species, highlighting an ongoing problem with Google’s image accuracy for mushroom foraging.
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AI generated image by freepik
