Not even Amazon is safe from the rise of AI 'slop'

While AI images might be becoming increasingly harder to spot, there are often telltale signs – particularly when it comes to the human body. AI famously struggles with hands, and it doesn't always do a good job with faces either, sometimes with terrifying results. Just ask Amazon.

A thumbnail image for the classic movie 12 Angry Men was recently added to Amazon's ad-supported Freevee streaming service, and it not only features a a series of 'men' with melting faces, but there are also 19 of them. (The clue's in the name as for how many there are supposed to be). And many are declaring it yet another example of what's becoming known as 'slop' – the AI-generated image equivalent of spam that's increasingly littering the internet. (For more artificial intelligence intel, take a look at our AI Week coverage.)

"Absolutely incredible that this is on the front page of a major streaming platform. We have truly entered the era of AI slop," tweets Andy Kelly who spotted the unfortunate thumbnail.

In Amazon's defence, the issue appears to be limited to Freevee, with Prime Video showing the correct image. According to AV Club, "licenses 12 Angry Men from a third party, which is responsible for the images that accompany the film." Although it's weird that the film itself is covered, but apparently not the poster.

This isn't the first time we've seen a major player in the world of entertainment treat us to some terrifying crowds of human/AI monsters. Recently, Disney was caught using AI actor replacements in the backgrounds of scenes. But not every example is quite so obviously egregious – here's how to spot an AI-generated image.

Creative Bloq's AI Week is held in association with DistinctAI, creators of the new plugin Vision FX 2.0, which creates stunning AI art based on your own imagery – perfect for ideation and conceptualising during the creative process. Find out more on the DistinctAI website.