AI images have taken over social media—there’s one circulating of Pope Francis wearing a hip puffer jacket and another of a hilarious POV of that infamous Oscar slap between Will Smith and Chris Rock.
And of course, there are some interesting ones for Filipinos that got traction online.
On March 25, graphic artist Jowee Alviar from Team Manila shared images of a reimagined Pasig River generated with AI program Midjourney.
The Pasig River in the AI-made images is a lot greener and more picturesque than in real life and features parks, trees, and stalls where people could chill out, eat street food, bike, and work out.
In an interview with ANCX, Alviar said he wrote in basic prompts like “Pasig River” and “Metro Manila background.” Then, he added the time of day and activities he imagined people would do by the river.
Netizens in the comments section of the post were amazed by how Pasig River could look and even said it looked like Singapore, while others began to call for #NoToPAREX and hoped San Miguel Corporation would reconsider the project.
What is PAREX?
ICYDK, the Pasig River Expressway (PAREX) is an upcoming project that would see a 19.37-kilometer six-lane elevated expressway along the banks of the city river. It seeks to bridge Metro Manila to Rizal and shorten the travel time from Manila to Pasig, and vice versa.
However, mobility and environmental groups are against the construction of the bridge for a number of reasons. Some are concerned that it will ruin the Metro Manila skyline. Mobility groups have also raised how it will mostly serve private cars instead of the commuting public. Meanwhile, environmentalists worry that PAREX will add to the pollution that already plagues the Pasig River.
The rise of AI art
The use of artificial intelligence programs in art and written works have been the talk of the internet as of late, with apps like ChatGPT gaining traction online.
AI art and generated images have also gone viral in March as they take the likeness of popular figures and put them in different scenarios. However, these deepfaked images are also raising concerns as some people might mistake them for real photos.
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photos from: Jowee Alviar/Facebook
