Paleontologists Are Fuming Over AI Depictions of Prehistoric Animals
A rat with at least four testicles, one larger than its head, published in a scientific journal earlier this year. A pterosaur with a third foot sprouting from its wing. A museum posting a psychedelic Godzilla-meets-gecko on social media , while a more life-like illustration of the ancient reptile appears on its website .
Imagery produced by artificial intelligence has caused its fair share of controversy . The handful of leading image generators are not perfect and yield results that are sometimes divergent from the user’s needs or expectations. But in the sciences, AI models are more than tools for making media or springboards for creativity. They are contributors to the scientific record, inasmuch as the figures in scientific research are part-and-parcel to the team’s written findings.
In paleontology, the science-informed depictions of ancient creatures—also known as “paleoart”—help other scientists and the public make meaning from new findings. They are grounded in science and are a unique portal into worlds tens, and sometimes hundreds, of millions of years removed from us. In that way, there’s much more at risk than the yassification of Mary Anning .
