People are mind-blown by image of British street that isn't actually real

AI image generators are the internet’s new favourite toy. From making politically charged memes to generating what Saul Goodman would look like as a beanie baby, this turn in modern technology is proving both weird and wonderful.

The latest chapter in this mind-blowing tech has led to the creation of an image of a British street that doesn’t actually exist. And it’s safe to say, it’s left people mind-blown.

The reddit thread, titled ‘AI can generate British streets with alarming accuracy’, shows a street on an uphill gradient with houses along its sides.

Upon first glance, the street really does look like your bog-standard, uninspiring British street.

Reddit/u/hoverside

But users of the Reddit were quick to point out some glaring inaccuracies in the constructed image, one user said: “There are no kerb stones and the kerb isn’t deep enough.”

Meanwhile, another user asked: “Where are the cars parked half on the pavement?”

Leading onto a follow-up question from another: “And the potholes?”

And upon further examination, the image gets even weirder. When zooming in on the ‘houses’, they just look a bit freaky.

In particular, some of the roofs on the houses at the back of the street look like they’re sprouting unknown substances, instead of the chimneys that are meant to be in their place.

Reddit/u/hoverside

Similarly, the first house on the right is spookily deceiving, as its building structure and windows appears to be facing both the camera and out onto the street simultaneously. It looks more like a house that’s been turned inside out.

The deceptiveness of the image is hardly surprising, though, when you consider what the AI has to do to generate images like this from scratch. 

Essentially, in this instance, it would use its algorithm to scan the internet for all the classic features of a British residential street, adding each individual characteristic to its database.

When it’s acquired all it needs, it will then combine everything together, leaving you with this eerie masterpiece.

First impressions aren’t always accurate, and despite the undeniable intelligence of these image generators, it seems that’s very much the case for this made of British street.

Topics: Reddit, Weird, Technology

Jenny Medlicott

Jenny is a freelance journalist writing across a number of publications.

@JennyMedlicott