Meta recommends using artificial intelligence to see the Northern Lights if you missed them on Thursday night. They posted three pictures made by AI of the Northern Lights. These showed the lights over the Golden Gate Bridge, a city, and a Ferris wheel.
Meta wanted to share in the experience of the lights, which could be seen as far south as the United States that night. However, many users on Threads disagreed with Meta’s idea. While some shared their own AI pictures, others said AI images were not the same as seeing the real thing.
One scientist said AI images should not replace people’s real experiences. Many users also posted photos to show the real Northern Lights. Other comments said Meta did not understand that sharing pictures of experiences brings people together.
There is ongoing debate about how AI affects photos and art. By training on real internet data, some argue it takes ideas and experiences without permission. Meta’s post got this wrong by inserting AI images where people wanted to connect over a special moment.
In the future, companies will need to think more about how AI impacts events and experiences for users. Generating fake pictures may seem like it adds to the discussion, but real connections happen when sharing the real thing. Meta likely just wanted to join in the fun but missed the fact that AI cannot replace being together for life’s wonders.
