Using AI-generated images on the IndieWeb

Two blogs on my blogroll discussed the use of AI-generated images on personal websites this week so I thought I would add a bit to the conversation. The two blogs in question are Nelson and Manu and the gist of it is that Nelson believes AI-generated images belong on corporate blogs while personal websites—where the expectation is that we see the work of an actual human—would do better with even a Microsoft Paint scribble. Manu takes it a step further, questioning whether the use of images driven purely by their importance to SEO or ‘design’ is sensible; no image is better than any image at all, he argues, if the content does not warrant the use of a picture in the first place.

Over the years I have thought of these questions myself several times and, not being one to dismiss new technology outright like a luddite, I have experimented with the use of AI-generated images as well. At some point between DALL–E versions 1 and 2 grotesque renditions of line drawings appeared on this website. But it did not take long for the novelty to wear off, thanks in large part to the incompetence of the software. Before that I was using human-created images from the likes of Unsplash and Flickr—think of the ’00s when image headers on webpages were all the rage—but I had such specific requirements for my images that the time I spent looking for one was sometimes humorously longer than the time I spent writing an essay. I came around a sort of circle before I stopped using images entirely, as Manu says, unless it was necessitated by my writing e.g. my recent photo essay from Bristol. I find AI-generated images easily identifiable and soulless.

But what about a design that relies on imagery? I feel like this is a legitimate scenario in which a writer might pour over dozens of options for pictures and be tempted to commission one of their own from generative AI. In this too I am strongly opposed to having computers indulge in a faux creative process; but I differ with Manu in that I am not entirely opposed to using images decoratively even if the content does not call for it. My reasons for not doing so on this website stem from my interest in keeping this website climate friendly and an image is precious bandwidth I am willing to sacrifice; moreover I think my design stands by itself, drawing on typographic merit and not really needing many images. But even those who choose to use human-created images at such cost have some responsibilities: optimise your images. Resize, compress and convert to a format like webp, and you just might keep your webpage size admirably small.