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A new AI tool creates hyperrealistic photos. Can you tell the difference?
Several new artificial intelligence tools have been released this summer that allow for the creation of hyperrealistic photos, making it easier than ever to alter, or entirely fabricate, an image. Experts say it’s becoming increasingly difficult for consumers to discern what is real and what is fake.
Among the most powerful new tools is FLUX.1, or Flux, a free AI image generator released in August, which allows for the creation of hyperrealistic images without a subscription.
What is Flux?
CBS News tested the new tool and found it was able to create convincing images of people in recognizable locations within seconds. Unlike similar tools, the results lacked many of the telltale signs of AI-generated images, such as skin that appears uncannily smooth.
Take a look at these four images — can you discern which of them is a genuine photograph and which are generated by AI?
Alex Clark, CBS News Confirmed
The top-left image is a real photograph taken on a Samsung phone this year. The other three were generated in Flux, using the real photograph as a starting reference. And while they are realistic-looking at first glance, there are signs of AI, including well-known buildings that are out of place.
Alex Clark, CBS News Confirmed
Generative AI works by drawing upon hundreds to thousands of reference images to create a new output, and the underlying technology has been available for years. Users can input a reference image to make the output more specific, and tools including Flux can also generate realistic images of humans, animals and landscapes with a simple descriptive sentence, or prompt.
Alex Clark, CBS News Confirmed
A boom of generative AI
Among the new tools released in August was Grok 2, an image generator available to Premium and Premium+ users of X, formerly Twitter. The chatbot has few guardrails, allowing users to create images of celebrities and copyrighted material, as well as offensive messages, CBS News testing found.
The AI model that powers Grok 2’s image generation was made by Black Forest Labs, the same startup that created Flux. Unlike other online tools that are often accessed through a browser, experts say Flux can be freely accessed and modified for personal use offline, making it not only remarkably realistic but open to abuse.
Flux’s terms of service prohibits users from creating content that interferes with existing copyrights, creating unlawful content or deceiving others by presenting AI-generated images as human-made.
Many companies developing AI tools, including Adobe, Google and OpenAI, have imposed restrictions in their software aimed at preventing misuse. Experts say that this isn’t something that should be taken for granted in a highly competitive market.
“The thing with Flux is not so much that it’s highly realistic, because that was going to come one way or another. That was inevitable. It’s the guardrails,” said Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, specializing in digital forensics and authenticating digital media.
Experts warn having an open-source, client-side tool such as Flux opens up the door to modifications from a wider community of users, which can lead to uses that directly violate the terms of service. “You can literally look at the code. And you can download the code and you can modify the code,” said Farid.
“What is going to happen to those other services? Are they going to start saying, ‘Oh, I see guardrails are bad for business? Maybe we should lower those guardrails to be competitive.’ In this business we’re only as good as the lowest common denominator. And in this case it’s Elon Musk,” said Farid.
What’s next in generative AI?
Video generative tools are also becoming widely available. Black Forest Labs, the startup that owns Flux, has said it plans to release tools capable of generating videos in the future. Other tools are already available to consumers; the AI-generated video below, created using an AI-generated image as a starting point, was made using a paid tool called Runway.
Alex Clark, CBS News Confirmed
This new array of tools can create images without many of the typical indications of AI, meaning people need to be more cautious when viewing images and videos online. Experts advise applying basic media literacy skills to vetting visuals, including paying close attention to background elements and other details — and most importantly, consider the source when determining whether something is authentic.
At the time of publication, CBS News had not received responses from X or Black Forest Labs when approached for comment.
Kara Fellows and
contributed to this report.
CBS News
Yellowstone hiker burned when she falls into scalding water near Old Faithful, park officials say
Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. — A New Hampshire woman suffered severe burns on her leg after hiking off-trail in Yellowstone National Park and falling into scalding water in a thermal area near the Old Faithful geyser, park officials said.
The 60-year-old woman from Windsor, New Hampshire, along with her husband and their leashed dog were walking off a designated trail near the Mallard Lake Trailhead on Monday afternoon when she broke through a thin crust over the water and suffered second- and third-degree burns to her lower leg, park officials said. Her husband and the dog weren’t injured.
The woman was flown to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho for treatment.
National Park Service / Jacob W. Frank
Park visitors are reminded to stay on boardwalks and trails in hydrothermal areas and exercise extreme caution. The ground in those areas is fragile and thin and there’s scalding water just below the surface, park officials said.
Pets are allowed in limited, developed areas of Yellowstone park but are prohibited on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry and in thermal areas.
The incident is under investigation. The woman’s name wasn’t made public.
This is the first known thermal injury in Yellowstone in 2024, park officials said in a statement. The park had recorded 3.5 million visitors through August this year.
Hot springs have injured and killed more people in Yellowstone National Park than any other natural feature, the National Park Service said. At least 22 people have died from hot spring-related injuries in and around the 3,471-square-mile national park since 1890, park officials have said.
TRENTON, N.J. — Democratic Newark City Council President LaMonica McIver has defeated Republican small businessman Carmen Bucco in a contest in New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District that opened up because of the death of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. in April.
McIver will serve out the remainder of Payne’s term, which ends in January. She and Bucco will face a rematch on the November ballot for the full term.
McIver said in a statement Wednesday that she stands on the “shoulders of giants,” naming Payne as chief among them.
She cast ahead to the November election, saying the right to make reproductive health choices was on the ballot as well as whether the economy should benefit the wealthy or “hard working Americans.”
“I will fight because the purpose of politics and the purpose of our vote is to give the people of our communities and our nation a bold voice,” she said.
Bucco congratulated McIver on the victory in a statement but said he’s looking forward to the rematch in November.
“I am not going anywhere,” he said in an email. “We still have a second chance to make district 10 great again!”
Who are LaMonica McIver and Carmen Bucco?
McIver emerged as the Democratic candidate in a crowded field in the July special election. A member of the city council of New Jersey’s biggest city since 2018, she also worked for Montclair Public Schools as a personnel director and plans to focus on affordability, infrastructure, abortion rights and “protecting our democracy,” she told The Associated Press earlier this summer.
Bucco describes himself on his campaign website as a small-business owner influenced by his upbringing in the foster system. He lists support for law enforcement and ending corruption as top issues.
The 10th District lies in a heavily Democratic and majority-Black region of northern New Jersey. Republicans are outnumbered by more than 6 to 1.
It’s been a volatile year for Democrats in New Jersey, where the party dominates state government and the congressional delegation.
Among the developments were the conviction on federal bribery charges of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, who has denied the charges, and the demise of the so-called county party line — a system in which local political leaders give their preferred candidates favorable position on the primary ballot.
Democratic Rep. Andy Kim, who’s running for Menendez’s seat, and other Democrats brought a federal lawsuit challenging the practice as part of his campaign to oust Menendez, who has resigned since his conviction.
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Yellowstone hiker burned when she falls into scalding water near Old Faithful, park officials say
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Yellowstone hiker burned when she falls into scalding water near Old Faithful, park officials say
Wagon rolls over at Wisconsin apple orchard injuring about 25 children and adults