Bizarre AI rat with huge genitals in peer-reviewed article (tech gone awry)

[C C]

Scientists aghast at bizarre AI rat with huge genitals in peer-reviewed article
https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/02/...d-article/

INTRO: Appall and scorn ripped through scientists' social media networks Thursday as several egregiously bad AI-generated figures circulated from a peer-reviewed article recently published in a reputable journal. Those figures—which the authors acknowledge in the article's text were made by Midjourney—are all uninterpretable. They contain gibberish text and, most strikingly, one includes an image of a rat with grotesquely large and bizarre genitals, as well as a text label of "dck."

On Thursday, the publisher of the review article, Frontiers, posted an "expression of concern," noting that it is aware of concerns regarding the published piece. "An investigation is currently being conducted and this notice will be updated accordingly after the investigation concludes," the publisher wrote.

The article in question is titled "Cellular functions of spermatogonial stem cells in relation to JAK/STAT signaling pathway," which was authored by three researchers in China, including the corresponding author Dingjun Hao of Xi’an Honghui Hospital. It was published online Tuesday in the journal Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology.

Frontiers did not immediately respond to Ars' request for comment, but we will update this post with any response... (MORE - details)

[Yazata]

I just looked at it and it isn't quite as bizarre as Ars Technica makes it seem. The "huge genitals" are a magnified and exploded view illustrating how the researchers obtained the cells that they were researching.

Do we really live in a new Puritan Age where images like this "trigger" snowflakes? (Perhaps those so-triggered should avoid biology or medicine.)

[Magical Realist]

[Image: P8nPzWi.jpeg]

[confused2]

The illustrations in the OP were made by Midjourney - An independent research lab exploring new mediums of thought and expanding the imaginative powers of the human species. Some of the labels look a bit Lovecraftian - the authors might not have known if not native English speakers.