A recent study published in the magazine Appetite and conducted byUniversity of Duisburg-Essen highlighted an unexpected response to Food images generated by artificial intelligence. Despite the sometimes hyper -realistic aspect, many people perceive these images as disturbing, especially when they present read visual imperfections.
The research was based on the theory of “Valle del Perturbante”concept developed by the Japanese scientist Masahiro Moriwhich describes the discomfort aroused by almost realistic objects, but not entirely. The participants in the study – 95 individuals – they evaluated 38 images of dishes made through AI, differentiated by degree of realism: from very realistic to clearly artificial, up to appearance dishes rotten or deteriorated.
The almost perfect images but with small mistakes, such as incorrect proportions or unnatural texturesthe more disturbing. On the contrary, the completely realistic or clearly fake images have aroused less discomfort, probably because the human brain manages to classify them more easily as safe or fake.
Food neo -ophobia
An interesting aspect emerged from the comparison between the perception of the images and the food neo -ophobiathat is, the fear of trying new foods. People with higher levels of neophobia tended to try a greater sense of discomfort in the face of imperfect imageswhile the simple Sensitivity to disgust It was not decisive. Also who had a higher body mass index He showed greater tolerance and, in some cases, appreciation for the food images generated by the AI.
These results raise important questions about the use of artificial intelligence in food marketing. Also Small visual errors They can compromise the effectiveness of an advertising campaign, making a dish not very appetizing instead of inviting. For this reason, an extremely attentive use of these technologies is needed, especially in areas in which The visual aesthetic of food It is essential for commercial success.
Finally, the study suggests that thehuman evolution has made us particularly sensitive to visual anomalies in food, such as self -revolving mechanism. However this ability can also induce false alarmspushing us to refuse perfectly safe foods only because visually “wrong” or, in this case, generated by artificial intelligence.
