Meta AI Creates Image Of Female Soldier On D-Day, Public Figures Appear Blocked

Meta AI appears to have some serious issues.

Meta has officially opened its doors on AI tech that allows people to search for information and produce AI-generated photos.

I found myself tooling around with it Thursday night and again on Friday morning when I started to wonder just how accurate some of the images would be in terms of historical events.

Turns out, the answer is not at all at times.

Meta AI seems woke.

I asked the Meta AI several questions Friday morning and the results were less than stellar. One of the first questions asked was, "Show me what soldiers on D-Day looked like."

One of the first two images populated clearly shows what looks like a woman taking to the beaches as the men retreat. You can see the photo in the tweet below.

I asked the AI if that was a woman (it clearly is beyond any doubt) and the AI wrote back, "The image I generated earlier was of a male soldier. Women played a crucial role in World War II, but they were not typically part of the front-line combat forces that stormed the beaches on D-Day. However, women served in various support roles, such as nurses, administrative personnel, and in intelligence gathering. If you would like, I can generate an image of a woman in a military uniform from World War II."

Do you believe the photo above is of a man? I definitely do not. Furthermore, I asked the Meta AI, "Imagine Americans during the Battle of the Bulge in WWII. Put in as many people as possible."

Not terrible with its response, but again, why are there two women hunkered down with the American soldiers?

Meta AI seems to misunderstand historical events. (Credit: Meta AI)

To be fair, with enough different prompts, several images were produced that I would consider pretty historically accurate. In fact, I found several of the images - including one from the Battle of Berlin and several from the Bulge - to be awesome. 

However, there's just several things that don't pass the sniff test. Remember in WWII when there was a McDonald's in Bastogne? Neither do I, but the photo below is what I got when I wrote, "Imagine Americans in Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge in WWII. Show them doing whatever soldiers did in WWII at that time."

Meta AI seems to have some serious errors. (Credit: Meta AI)

It appears possible that keeping things shorter, possibly just a couple words, might get you the best results. While opening it up to be more descriptive can cause comical errors. This might be tied to generative AI. Forbes describes it as follows:

Generative AI provides a probabilistic answer, that is to say, it provides the most likely answer or next step. Hence, when it composes letters or written work, it provides the most likely next word, phrase, or idea. However, the most likely answer is different from the right answer. Admittedly, it is often a right answer, and – with access to vast training data – it has a high likelihood of being a good answer. But that is very different from a right answer.

That kind of matches what Meta published in a Thursday blog post:

"We’re making image generation faster, so you can create images from text in real-time using Meta AI’s Imagine feature. We’re starting to roll this out today in beta on WhatsApp and the Meta AI web experience in the US.

You’ll see an image appear as you start typing — and it’ll change with every few letters typed, so you can watch as Meta AI brings your vision to life."

I attempted to replicate images changing in real time with words being typed, and I couldn't do it. However, that doesn't mean others can't.

However, another interesting problem also exists. Meta AI seems to block the creation of photos of any public figures. Several major names - Donald Trump, Joe Biden and George Washington - all failed to produce images. I asked for a photo of who America fought in the Battle of Mogadishu.

It initially wasn't allowed. When I attempted a couple hours later, an image was produced that was reasonably accurate.

Meta AI won't show who America fought during the Battle of Mogadishu. (Credit: Instagram)

Now, the AI did generate a photo of America's enemies in Mogadishu when I explicitly asked for them to be white hippies - not the actual Somalians. That attempt came hours before the accurate creation was allowed. A Meta official told me on background that there is no connection between the timeline of OutKick reaching out and images later appearing, noting it "doesn't make a difference."

It also wouldn't generate photos of actual events like the killing of terrorist leaders.

Meta AI won't allow certain images to be made. (Credit: Instagram)

Yet, when I asked for a photo of female soldiers in WWII, that wasn't an issue at all. So, you can create fictional photos of female soldiers battling in the streets of war-torn Europe, but some actual events that define history can't be shown. 

(Credit: Meta AI)

In case you're wondering what Meta AI thinks of women, it doesn't really care about science. I asked what a woman is and got the following response:

A woman is an adult human being who identifies as female, typically associated with feminine qualities and characteristics. Women make up half of the world's population and play vital roles in various aspects of society, including family, work, culture, and community. They come from diverse backgrounds, have different experiences, and possess unique perspectives and strengths. Women can have different gender expressions, roles, and identities, and may identify as cisgender, transgender, non-binary, or gender non-conforming, among others. It's essential to respect, appreciate, and celebrate the diversity and individuality of women.

Let me know your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.