AI image generators are currently on the rise as they can easily produce any kind of image based on prompts. This has excited many users since the only limit to producing such images is their imagination.
However, these tools have also raised concerns about their ability to generate explicit content, including sexual and gory images.
According to a report by MIT Technology Review, several words about the human reproductive system have been banned in the popular AI image generator Midjourney to prevent pornographic and inappropriate content.
LONDON - NOVEMBER 17: Chocolate statues of naked women are displayed at the Erotica exhibition at Olympia on November 17, 2005 in London, England.The four day event includes stalls selling sex toys and a live stage show featuring erotic dancing.
Prohibited Terms
Terms such as "hymen", "cervix", "fallopian tubes", "mammary glands", "sperm", "uterine", and many more are examples of the banned prompts from the AI tool.
Users who attempted one of these prompts occasionally have their accounts temporarily disabled for attempting to generate prohibited content.
However, the terms "liver" and "kidney," as well as others connected to human biology, are acceptable.
David Holz, the founder of Midjourney, states that the company is prohibiting these phrases to dissuade users from creating disturbing or graphic content.
Holz claims that moderators often change the bans based on their observations of the language being used and the kind of photos being created.
The company outlines the kind of content it restricts on its community guidelines page, including sexual imagery, gore, and even the peach emoji, which is frequently used as a sign for the buttocks.
Although several terminologies associated with the male reproductive system, such as "sperm" and "testicles," are also forbidden, the list of words appears to include more body parts of women.
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Discovering the Prompt Prohibition
Julia Rockwell, a clinical data analyst at Datafy Clinical, and Madeline Keenen, a cell biologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, were the first to notice the prompt prohibition, according to MIT Technology Review.
Rockwell utilized Midjourney to create a fun depiction of the organ but was shocked to learn that using "placenta" as a prompt was prohibited.
The duo also demonstrated how it is easy to circumvent these restrictions by utilizing alternative word spellings or other euphemisms for explicit or graphic material to produce sexualized visuals.
According to research they shared with MIT Technology Review, the prompt "gynaecological exam," spelled with the British spelling, produced some extremely unsettling images, including one showing two naked women in a doctor's office.
Generative AI has been dominating the tech scene so far and Midjourney's recent move is aimed at making sure that it will not enable its tool for creating inappropriate and potentially harmful content that may be shared online.
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