Have you noticed that news stories and marketing materialabout Artificial Intelligence are typically illustrated with clichéd and misleading images? Humanoid robots, glowing brains, outstretched robot hands, blue backgrounds, and the Terminator. These stereotypes are not just overworked, they can be surprisingly unhelpful.

Fritzchens Fritz / Better Images of AI / GPU shot etched 5 / CC-BY 4.0
What’s the problem with current tropes?
Abstract, futuristic or science-fiction-inspired images of AI hinder the understanding of the technology’s already significant societal and environmental impacts.
Images relating machine intelligence to human intelligence set unrealistic expectations and misstate the capabilities of AI.
Images representing AI as sentient robots mask the accountability of the humans actually developing the technology, and can suggest the presence of robots where there are none.
Such images potentially sow fear, and research shows they can be laden with historical assumptions about gender, ethnicity and religion.
However, finding alternatives can be difficult! That’s why we, a non-profit collaboration, are researching, creating, curating and providing Better Images of AI.

Image by Alan Warburton / © BBC / Better Images of AI / Social Media / CC-BY 4.0

Rens Dimmendaal / Better Images of AI / Man / CC-BY 4.0