Artificial intelligence is the most talked about technology of the moment, but how well does it know the Manchester area?
An AI interface was put through its paces as it was asked to generate images of Greater Manchester landmarks based off the top ten sights and attractions list compiled by Tripadvisor.
The images for this story were created on the Bing Creates platform — which is similar to ChatGPT.
The programme delivered four images for each prompt and we picked the two most realistic out of the images received for you to scrutinise.
If we ran the algorithm several times we would have undoubtedly received different results – but this shows the technology’s first attempt at creating the images.
Artificial Intelligence is capable of rendering images in black and white, colour, and in different artistic media.
Etihad Stadium
Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium is ranked by Tripadvisor as our region’s most famous attraction.
AI did fairly well hitting the mark compared to some of the other landmarks we have in the area which were also featured on the popular travel website.
Old Trafford
Another football stadium, Old Trafford – the home of Manchester United – was next on the list and it looks a bit like a world-class garden centre.
AI did not hit the mark on this one with fields of wild flowers out the front – and more worryingly, the football pitch is located out the front of the multi-million pound stadium in both examples.
Manchester Arena
Manchester Arena has some uncommon architectural features which were not highlighted by AI – whose rendition featured a lot more glass than the actual city centre structure.
The second picture looks like the building is about to take off in a similar manner to a UFO.
Dunham Massey Hall & Gardens
In this example of what AI can do, the system nailed the style of architecture but the two examples provided above were vastly different to each other – and the actual attraction.
Manchester Cathedral
In the above depictions, the first example is arguably closer to how Manchester Cathedral looks but while both examples look great, they are not exactly accurate.
Manchester Gay Village
The Manchester Gay Village could be anywhere in the world and doesn’t look specific to Manchester where the village is located next to a canal.
The street looks like a generic one that just happens to feature rainbow flags.
Manchester Central Library
The Manchester Central Library looks quite grandiose in these examples.
The second example would not look out of place in Ancient Greece.
Chinatown
At first glance, Chinatown does look like a Chinatown but without the lanterns it would be difficult to ascertain that the pictures were of that attraction.
The Bridgewater Hall
The original Bridgewater Hall has a lot more right angles than its AI counterpart.
While AI again created two similar images of its composition, it is some way from the real life example of this Manchester icon.
Smithills Open Farm
Probably the least known attraction on the list, Smithills Open Farm in Bolton came in at number ten.
AI could not agree with itself on what the farm looks like so it gave two different interpretations.
You can see the skyline of Manchester in the background of the first, while the second is more sparsely populated.
What did you think of AI’s attempts to recreate these attractions? Feel free to comment below.
Feature image: Bing AI.
