This infographic about how to pick up a snail is going viral, but it was AI-generated and numerous biologists have chimed in to say it is wrong.
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This infographic about how to pick up a snail is going viral, but it was AI-generated and numerous biologists have chimed in to say it is wrong.
(I previously boosted it, but have un-boosted. The post author has been informed, and has even boosted the biologists' comments, but has not taken down the original post. I have reported them and will mute them for everyone with my admin powers.)
Source: https://g.co/about/jb9fd7
Biologists countering:
- https://functional.cafe/@kupac/116129641965242964
- https://ecoevo.social/@ubi/116129816353041890
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This infographic about how to pick up a snail is going viral, but it was AI-generated and numerous biologists have chimed in to say it is wrong.
(I previously boosted it, but have un-boosted. The post author has been informed, and has even boosted the biologists' comments, but has not taken down the original post. I have reported them and will mute them for everyone with my admin powers.)
Source: https://g.co/about/jb9fd7
Biologists countering:
- https://functional.cafe/@kupac/116129641965242964
- https://ecoevo.social/@ubi/116129816353041890Remember, when you post misinformation and refuse to take it down because of all the engagement or fake Internet points, *you are part of the problem*!!!
In this case it could have been avoided by reverse image searching, which shows the image was recently created with AI. Always look up the original source and corroborate the claims with reliable sources! I should have done this before boosting, but was lazy.
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Remember, when you post misinformation and refuse to take it down because of all the engagement or fake Internet points, *you are part of the problem*!!!
In this case it could have been avoided by reverse image searching, which shows the image was recently created with AI. Always look up the original source and corroborate the claims with reliable sources! I should have done this before boosting, but was lazy.
There's a lot of stuff about AI-generated image, video, or text "tells", but—as with good old Photoshopped images and emailed urban legends—the most reliable method is not to look at the content itself, but *find the original source*.
The source may show the content was:
- real but taken out of context (e.g. had a caption attached stating something false)
- real but unethically produced (e.g. posed/harassed wildlife)
- real and by an actual human being who should be credited
- originally from an ad agency, special effects artist, satire site, obscure TV show, generative AI, etc.
- called out as false by people in the comments -
R relay@relay.an.exchange shared this topic
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This infographic about how to pick up a snail is going viral, but it was AI-generated and numerous biologists have chimed in to say it is wrong.
(I previously boosted it, but have un-boosted. The post author has been informed, and has even boosted the biologists' comments, but has not taken down the original post. I have reported them and will mute them for everyone with my admin powers.)
Source: https://g.co/about/jb9fd7
Biologists countering:
- https://functional.cafe/@kupac/116129641965242964
- https://ecoevo.social/@ubi/116129816353041890@nev I'm one of those expressing skepticism. I'm going off my experience with snails and my understanding of their biology (which is I can teach an Invertebrate Biology course but not at the level of a Gastropod specialist).
But is there a Malacologist that can confirm that the information is incorrect?
The only Fediverse Malacologist that I'm aware of is our Clam Man Dan @dantheclamman
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@nev I'm one of those expressing skepticism. I'm going off my experience with snails and my understanding of their biology (which is I can teach an Invertebrate Biology course but not at the level of a Gastropod specialist).
But is there a Malacologist that can confirm that the information is incorrect?
The only Fediverse Malacologist that I'm aware of is our Clam Man Dan @dantheclamman
@ubi @nev @dantheclamman Having not seen the original post, now I really want to know how to handle snails safely. I guess, ideally, “don’t pick them up” is the right answer, but what if you want to save them if they’re on a road?
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@ubi @nev @dantheclamman Having not seen the original post, now I really want to know how to handle snails safely. I guess, ideally, “don’t pick them up” is the right answer, but what if you want to save them if they’re on a road?
@com @ubi @nev I think the mantle collapse thing is overblown. I've heard it mentioned before by hobbyists as if snails will 100% die if they are yanked, and that is just false. I can't speak for all species, but the ones common in pet trade and most of the wild ones we encounter are adapted to deal with predators yanking them. They pull into their shell, retract their operculum if they have it, and wait for the predator to move on.
I myself just transferred 50 juvenile mystery snails (Pomacea bridgesii) I raised to new homes. I do think the advice to nudge them to get them to retract, rather than just yanking them up, is a good idea to reduce the stress for the animal, which can impact their growth and survival. That's what I did, just a tap with tweezers. Some were still adhered to tank glass so I nudged them a bit more to get them to retract. But I don't think yanking them leads to a sudden destruction of organs.
Something similar came up when I was raising giant clams (mostly Tridacna derasa) and some people were claiming exposing them to air is fatal, and you need to 'burp' the clams to protect them or they'll get an air embolism or something. This is just silly because in the wild, these clams are commonly in the intertidal and can handle being exposed to air for hours at a time. They burp themselves!
I appreciate being compassionate to these invertebrates and caring about their welfare. That's a beautiful thing to me. But let's not make stuff up about their biology and definitely not cite AI about their care!! The best way to ensure good care is to look back to the conditions that these creatures face in the wild and try to replicate those conditions as closely as possible!
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This infographic about how to pick up a snail is going viral, but it was AI-generated and numerous biologists have chimed in to say it is wrong.
(I previously boosted it, but have un-boosted. The post author has been informed, and has even boosted the biologists' comments, but has not taken down the original post. I have reported them and will mute them for everyone with my admin powers.)
Source: https://g.co/about/jb9fd7
Biologists countering:
- https://functional.cafe/@kupac/116129641965242964
- https://ecoevo.social/@ubi/116129816353041890Yes , if you use these crap -
R relay@relay.mycrowd.ca shared this topic
-
This infographic about how to pick up a snail is going viral, but it was AI-generated and numerous biologists have chimed in to say it is wrong.
(I previously boosted it, but have un-boosted. The post author has been informed, and has even boosted the biologists' comments, but has not taken down the original post. I have reported them and will mute them for everyone with my admin powers.)
Source: https://g.co/about/jb9fd7
Biologists countering:
- https://functional.cafe/@kupac/116129641965242964
- https://ecoevo.social/@ubi/116129816353041890@nev I’m sure it was unpleasant to post something thinking it was helpful, only to have a bunch of people dogpile and say how it was shit. Sadly, I was part of the dogpile.
This is what it takes to inoculate against AI slop. It sucks. I boosted one of the infinite animal-falls-into-the-snow videos before I realised it was AI slop.
We have to push back. We can’t accept it.
But it would be better if we had a nicer way to deliver the inoculation.
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R relay@relay.infosec.exchange shared this topic
-
There's a lot of stuff about AI-generated image, video, or text "tells", but—as with good old Photoshopped images and emailed urban legends—the most reliable method is not to look at the content itself, but *find the original source*.
The source may show the content was:
- real but taken out of context (e.g. had a caption attached stating something false)
- real but unethically produced (e.g. posed/harassed wildlife)
- real and by an actual human being who should be credited
- originally from an ad agency, special effects artist, satire site, obscure TV show, generative AI, etc.
- called out as false by people in the commentsAnd sometimes a photographer will photo edit a post for artistic reasons, in order to create art, not record reality.
THE FIFTH COLUMN
"This column is dedicated to the proposition that Canada (and indeed the world) is in a crisis situation and that fundamental social change is required to remedy this situation." - The First Column, Lambda November 2, 1971 This blog is inspired by my column of the same name in the Laurentian University Newspaper, Lambda, from 1971-1973. The title refers to the concept of subverting the system from within. To read key excerpts from those columns read the first few posts in this blog.
(the5thc.blogspot.com)
