AI generated results convey wildly inaccurate representation of an ‘Irish man’
July 2023 – EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum is challenging negative and misleading Irish stereotypes found in generative AI, with its latest campaign, Paddy ‘A.I.rishman’.
This campaign is a follow up to last summer’s ‘This is Not Us’, within which EPIC uncovered predictive search data that showed the many incorrect and misleading perceptions of the Irish which still prevail globally. This year, EPIC is taking on Artificial Intelligence and the outdated, and often offensive, stereotypes that are generated from this particular technology.
Following research, EPIC uncovered that when you prompt a popular AI image generator to show you an ‘Irish man’, the results were, without exception, outdated and extremely far removed from a modern-day understanding of ‘Irishness’. In countless tests, every generated image contained references to drinking, anger, aggression, or leprechaun-like styling. It’s these negative clichés that EPIC wants to call to account.
In their new iteration of ‘This Is Not Us’, EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum aims to confront these misinformed perceptions head-on, by using AI to demonstrate how the Irish are often the butt of the joke within pop culture. AI pulls data from across the internet and creates what it ‘thinks’ is the most accurate representation of a user’s prompts. You need look no further than this year’s Oscars or Saturday Night Live skits to see that cheap shots still get cheap laughs.
Aileesh Carew, CEO, EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, said, “While being Irish cannot possibly be summed up in a single image, we were surprised to find that AI generated images of the Irish are full of outdated stereotypes. At EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, we know that being Irish is a celebration that extends across the globe. We hope that this campaign will inspire people to look beyond stereotypes wherever they encounter them, and create meaningful conversations about the pitfalls and potentials of AI and of course visit EPIC to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be Irish.”
Nathan Mannion, Head of Exhibitions and Programmes at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, said, “Whilst it’s disappointing to see these negative stereotypes perpetuated within AI, at EPIC we know that the lived experiences of our emigrants and diaspora are far more complex and nuanced than these reductive and clichéd images – we are inventors, poets, designers, leaders and changemakers. Our music, literature, culture, sport, food and dance encapsulate our rich and varied heritage and connect millions of people across the globe and across generations with each other and with Ireland.”
Alex Gibson, Head of Digital Marketing Discipline, TU Dublin, “One of the recognised downsides of AI is the potential to reinforce biases that exist in information already published. We all need to understand that AI processes essentially trawl data that already exists, and therefore is susceptible to significant misrepresentation. I am not at all surprised by the findings of the EPIC team and it is a very useful illustration of the challenges AI poses, and one I plan to share with my own students.”
Voted Europe’s Leading Tourist Attraction for the past three years, EPIC offers a fully interactive experience like no other, which brings Irish history to life and allows visitors to discover what it really means to be Irish. EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum exists to demonstrate that the Irish have left a greater, more positive impact on the world. Their museum experience shares the unforgettable stories of those who left Ireland’s shores, influencing, and shaping the world along the way.
Visit www.epicchq.com for more information or search #EPICmuseum on your chosen social platform.
You can check out the campaign video here.
