Everything’s so fake, it’s real

How AI-generated imagery is shaping our digital landscapes

An inferior mirage seen in the Mojave Desert in a Nevada spring. Brocken Inaglory.

A woman is walking in the desert under the beating sun. Her phone’s GPS is leading her towards an outpost, but she is quickly dehydrating. She sees a glimmer on the horizon. It looks like an oasis. It looks like water! But it’s not on the map and to reach it would mean making a detour. “Oasis or outpost?” she…