Scientist found that consumers prefer AI-generated food images over real ones, especially when unaware of their origin, due to enhanced functions like symmetry and color, raising concerns about impacts on eating habits and sustainability efforts. (AI created cheeseburger image utilizing Midjourney version 6.0.) Credit: SciTechDaily.comA brand-new study shows preference for AI-created food imagery due to its enhanced appearance, with potential ramifications for customer health and environmental sustainability.With the Global Nutrition and Hydration Week 2024 beginning today, researchers have actually revealed an interesting discovery– customers normally prefer AI-generated images of food over real food images, especially when they are unaware of their real nature. The brand-new findings have actually been published in Food Quality and Preference.According to the scientists, the outcomes suggest that AI-generated food visuals excel at improving the appeal of illustrated foods by leveraging essential features such as symmetry, shape, glossiness, and total lighting and color. All of these are understood to contribute substantially to the beauty of food imagery.Enhancing Appeal With AIEven subtle tweaks in placing may enhance the appeal of AI-generated food images. Lead author Giovanbattista Califano (Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II) discussed: “As humans, we tend to worry with things pointing towards us, analyzing them as threats, even when its just food. When entrusted with duplicating food photos including items pointing at the viewer, such as a lot of carrots or a breeze, the AI often places the food so that it does not directly point at the viewer. This warrants additional studies, however its plausible that this technique improves the perceived appearance of the depicted food.” In the study, the scientists asked 297 participants to rate ai-generated or genuine food images on a scale from “Not at all appetizing” to “Extremely appealing.” The images portrayed a range of natural, processed, and ultra-processed foods, from carrots and apples to chocolate milkshakes and potato french fries. When individuals were told how each image had been produced– whether through photography or AI– they tended to rate ai-generated and real versions equally appealing. However, when participants were uninformed of the image creation procedure, the AI-generated variation was regularly rated as considerably more appealing than the genuine food image.Implications for Consumer Behavior and SustainabilityStudy supervisor and co-author Professor Charles Spence (Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford) stated: “While AI-generated visuals might use cost-saving opportunities for marketers and the market by decreasing the expense of commissioning food photoshoots, these findings highlight possible threats related to intensifying visual cravings among customers– the phenomenon where seeing images of food activates appetite and cravings. This could possibly influence unhealthy eating behaviours or foster impractical expectations about food among consumers.” Additionally, the researchers also found that AI-generated images tend to depict foods to appear more energy-dense compared to the originals, particularly in the abundance depicted. For circumstances, AI might increase the number of french fries in the image or include more whipped cream to a dessert. Offered that human beings have an evolutionary drive to pay more attention to energy-dense foods, this raises concerns that extensive dissemination of such idealized food images could promote cue-induced eating of unhealthy foods.Furthermore, with the international motion towards more sustainable usage patterns, consisting of the promotion of ugly veggies and fruits, there is a concern that constant production of AI-enhanced food images may nudge customers towards an impractical standard of how natural foods should look, potentially hurting sustainability efforts.Reference: “Assessing the visual appeal of real/AI-generated food images” by Giovanbattista Califano and Charles Spence, 28 February 2024, Food Quality and Preference.DOI: 10.1016/ j.foodqual.2024.105149.
Credit: SciTechDaily.comA brand-new study shows choice for AI-created food imagery due to its enhanced beauty, with possible implications for customer health and ecological sustainability.With the Global Nutrition and Hydration Week 2024 starting today, scientists have revealed an intriguing discovery– customers normally choose AI-generated images of food over real food images, specifically when they are unaware of their real nature. The new findings have been released in Food Quality and Preference.According to the researchers, the results recommend that AI-generated food visuals stand out at enhancing the appeal of portrayed foods by leveraging essential functions such as proportion, shape, glossiness, and total lighting and color. When individuals were uninformed of the image development procedure, the AI-generated version was consistently rated as significantly more appetizing than the genuine food image.Implications for Consumer Behavior and SustainabilityStudy supervisor and co-author Professor Charles Spence (Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford) said: “While AI-generated visuals might use cost-saving chances for online marketers and the industry by minimizing the cost of commissioning food photoshoots, these findings highlight possible threats associated with intensifying visual hunger amongst consumers– the phenomenon where viewing images of food activates cravings and yearnings.
