Have you recently seen a stunning photo of the Hollywood Hills in California? An image circulating on social media platforms including Facebook and BlueSky depicts a lush green mountain range with the Los Angeles skyline in the background. But this is completely false. There’s not even a real place called the Hollywood Hills.
This image originally appeared to be taken by a man named Mimi Esis Ojo, and there are tons of other AI-generated images on his page. While anyone living in Southern California could probably tell right away that this was fake, it appears that some people who have never visited the United States were duped into thinking it was real.
A Facebook user from Nigeria commented: “How many mountains are there in the United States and all the geographical features are completed in the United States, then we have been deceived by God.”
Writer Cooper Lund points out on BlueSky that this chaos could lead to disaster if foreign tourists come to the United States hoping to see some artificially-generated fantasy.
“Soon we’ll get a story about tourists experiencing strange meltdowns because the only thing they know about the place they’re visiting is a bad AI generation,” Lund Tweet.
Lund pointed out that a similar thing happened when Chinese tourists visited Paris, France in the early 2010s. They expected Paris to be “like an original movie set in a romantic love story” New York Times This was described in 2014. Instead, they were shocked by “cigarette butts and dog excrement, the rude insouciance of the locals, and the gratuitous public displays of affection.”
Experts even have a name for when this happens, according to the agency. era:
Psychologists have warned that Chinese tourists are at risk of being robbed by thieves who frighten them and have their expectations dashed. paris syndromeIn this case, foreigners’ good impressions of champagne, majestic buildings and Monet are subverted by the pressure of the city. They will feel depressed, anxious, persecuted, and even hallucinate, while the locals in the city People are also known for being among the world’s famous cities. The unhappiest man on earth.
Given the country’s large cultural footprint, many people may have a very different picture of the United States than what they see when they visit. While you can blame a lot of this on Hollywood, there seems to be a new culture fisherman in town.
With just a few simple text prompts, generative AI can turn any imagined place into an acceptable reality. If you visit the real city of Hollywood as an outsider, be prepared to lower your expectations. It looks nothing like the completely fictional Hollywood Hills.