No, Meta: I'm not going to fake my northern lights photos, even though it hurts to have missed the real experience.
It's simply wrong.
On May 10 of this year, the most intense geomagnetic storm in over two decades was recorded, allowing the phenomenon of the Northern Lights to be observed in unusual locations. I was lucky enough to find out in advance so I could head out with my camera gear, and it was truly a memorable night. This event, classified as G5, made the aurora visible even in the south of the UK, filling the night sky with fascinating colors. Recently, I decided to compare the results of a mirrorless camera with those of a smartphone to see which one produced better images of the Northern Lights.
On the other hand, on October 11, there was also an opportunity to see the auroras, but unfortunately, I found out that it happened the next day. The images that flooded my social media were spectacular, which only increased my disappointment, especially since the night was clear and I was at home with no specific plans. I had learned some photography techniques during my first encounter with the lights, so I was eager to put them into practice.
Just a few days after the event, while I was seeing a wave of impressive photos on my feeds, Meta's Threads social network posted a message that was quite inappropriate: "POV: you missed the Northern Lights in real life, so you made your own with Meta AI," accompanied by an AI-generated image of the aurora over famous landmarks, such as the Golden Gate Bridge. This post was not well-received.
Although I was disappointed to miss the Northern Lights this time, I don’t think it’s right to recreate an experience that would only be authentic by being present. For me, these events are about living in the moment. My colleague Phil Berne, for example, decided to enjoy the rare total eclipse instead of fiddling with his camera to capture it.
The first time I saw the Northern Lights in May, I felt a magical atmosphere. However, I got carried away with photography and didn’t enjoy it as much as I could have. Reflecting on my experience, I understand that I don’t need a photo to prove that I was somewhere, especially if that gets in the way of enjoying the moment.
I admit that I agree it’s normal to miss out on some experiences. However, Meta's message suggesting "recreating" events with AI can be problematic. While I understand that their post was a demonstration of their new image generation capabilities, the implication of faking experiences with these tools is concerning.
There are image editing tools that can be creative and useful, but manipulating elements of real events using AI can be dangerous territory. The spread of fake news and other adverse effects are manifestations of this issue. Image generation tools are valuable, but when used to confuse others about the authenticity of an experience, that is unacceptable. If Meta encourages the deceptive use of these technologies instead of combating it, serious concerns arise about veracity in the use of digital images.
