AI is being called out for unrealistic body portrayal

AI tools like Midjourney generate images based on what the internet thinks something is or what it looks like.
And when such platforms are asked to create a picture of someone healthy who exercises, they generate images of people with no body fat, chiselled jaws, muscles, and even 12-pack abs.
Sports brand ASICS believes the AI images fail to show “the real benefit of exercise” which they believe is “the mental health uplift” – instead they focus on “extreme physical transformations”.
In response, the brand has launched an AI Training programme – a bank of images featuring “real people enjoying exercise for the feeling, not aesthetics” combined with bespoke lines of code and AI prompts that AI tools can use to command more inclusive images.
It’s hoped the measures – which are demonstrated in a newly released video – will help change what consumers and in-turn AI platforms think the healthy exercise looks like.
Gary Raucher of ASICS EMEA, said: “We’ve always believed in the benefit of exercise, not just on the body, but also on the mind.
“And in today’s society, we know the uplifting power of exercise is needed more than ever.
“When we discovered that popular AI image-generating tools were creating unrealistic depictions of people who exercised – demotivating people to the point of exclusion from exercise, we were compelled to take action.”
When shown the AI generated images of “healthy people” who exercise, additional research commissioned by ASICS found 72 per cent believe the pictures present an unrealistic body type.
However, 72 per cent said the images could cause people to develop worries about their own bodies.
Almost a fifth (19 per cent) believe ‘non-natural supplements’ – like steroids – would need to be taken to have such a body, while 40 per cent felt cosmetic surgery would be necessary.
Just seven per cent believed the physique