AI Editing in Second Life and the Double Standard
You know when you’re looking at an AI-edited Second Life photo, right? You have eyes. You know that hair doesn’t really look like that, the surroundings are way too realistic, or something is just slightly off. Not quite Second Life. It’s above what Second Life is capable of. I think Second Life looks amazing now, but I rezzed during the system Ruth avatar era. I remember what we used to look like.
Many Second Life brands are now marketing to us, the residents, with flawless AI-edited photos, but they’re not being honest about it. They want you to think they’re just amazing at photography/editing and that you too can achieve that look if you buy their products. AI editing is basically the same thing as 3D rendered ads at this point. It’s just too good to be raw Second Life.
I have an amazing computer, and it frustrates me sometimes when I can’t render images that look that good. But I’m not against AI editing at all, since I can’t be deceived, but maybe someone new to SL may be. What amuses me is that whenever a resident posts an AI-edited photo for fun, fellow residents attack them, but when brands do it, nobody says anything. I was telling my friend that residents go after each other, and especially bloggers, because attacking us has no consequences. They don’t dare confront their favorite brands for fear of the brand’s fans attacking them back, or the brands themselves responding.
All of this to say, I was happily surprised when I was scrolling X (Twitter) and came across this prompt post by Sopha Portal, the designer of MudSkin. She also posted the raw image from Second Life so you could compare what is SL and what is AI-enhanced. I used her prompt exactly as it was written to generate a similar image. I love it. Have you noticed all the amazing backlit photos in SL lately with beautiful glowing hair? They’re probably using AI. It takes two seconds.
Use this prompt: { “image_generation_prompt”: { “subject”: “A beautiful female character with fox ears based on a reference image, maintaining the exact same three-quarter view, facial angle, and composition. Her eyes, nose, lips, and sad expression must remain identical to the reference.”, “enhancements”: “Upgrade the details to ultra-high-definition, adding hyper-realistic individual strands of soft pink hair and photorealistic, detailed human skin texture with natural lighting reflections. Remove any tears from her face.”, “background”: “Completely replace the solid green background with a dreamy, soft-focused magical forest filled with a pastel pink haze and ethereal light beams. The atmosphere should be whimsical, glowing, and cinematic.”, “effects”: “Add a dynamic effect of fluttering pink cherry blossom petals and vibrant green leaves swirling gently around her, creating depth and a soft-focus fantasy vibe.” } }
I edited the prompt a little and made another image, this time with a city background and changed the colors to blue. These were created using raw images I took in SL for a previous blog post. I’m very comfortable with the fact that I can take a great raw SL photo, and I have no problem using AI when I want to, just for fun.
I wish SL residents would leave people alone if they want to use AI, and before they try to shame someone for it, realize that many of their favorite brands are already doing the exact same thing. At the end of the day, I don’t think people are actually mad about AI. They just pick and choose who they’re comfortable criticizing.
