How do people experience the images created by generative artificial intelligence? An exploration of people's perceptions, appraisals, and emotions related to a Gen-AI text-to-image model and its creations

• Published in: International journal of human-computer studies Vol. 193; p. 103375
• Main Authors: Rapp, Amon, Di Lodovico, Chiara, Torrielli, Federico, Di Caro, Luigi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2025
• Subjects: Anthropomorphising; Generative AI; Humanness; Stable diffusion; Uncanny valley; User experience; Uncanny valley; Anthropomorphising; Generative AI; Humanness; AI; Stable diffusion; User experience
• ISSN: 1071-5819
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2024.103375

•We explore how people perceive 20 images generated by a Generative AI.•We highlight that people perceive the images as either prototypical or strange.•We describe the feelings of uncanniness that the Gen-AI images evoke.•We identify strategies performed by people to tame these unsettling feelings.•We point out that people need to (de)humanize the AI and make sense of its creations. Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen-AI) has rapidly advanced in recent years, potentially producing enormous impacts on industries, societies, and individuals in the near future. In particular, Gen-AI text-to-image models allow people to easily create high-quality images possibly revolutionizing human creative practices. Despite their increasing use, however, the broader population's perceptions and understandings of Gen-AI-generated images remain understudied in the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community. This study investigates how individuals, including those unfamiliar with Gen-AI, perceive Gen-AI text-to-image (Stable Diffusion) outputs. Study findings reveal that participants appraise Gen-AI images based on their technical quality and fidelity in representing a subject, often experiencing them as either prototypical or strange: these experiences may raise awareness of societal biases and evoke unsettling feelings that extend to the Gen-AI itself. The study also uncovers several “relational” strategies that participants employ to cope with concerns related to Gen-AI, contributing to the understanding of reactions to uncanny technology and the (de)humanization of intelligent agents. Moreover, the study offers design suggestions on how to use the anthropomorphizing of the text-to-image model as design material, and the Gen-AI images as support for critical design sessions.