The most important thing to keep in mind, when considering AI images for helping to illustrate or explain the actual content, is that AI-generated images have a big trust problem.

Take a look at the Google Image Search results for 'Engine Diagram' https://www.google.com/search?q=Engine+Diagram&tbm=isch

In the first row I get two correct-looking diagrams, then a load of AI-generated ones. Three cylinder heads for four cylinders? Two crankshafts? Oil pan labelled Crankshaft? Oil pan labelled Connect in rod? A four-cylinder engine with seven valve springs? Parts labelled up to 39 but a 9-item key? Spark plug wires that loop back on themselves? A crank shaft where the pistons aren't offset in phase? Four-cylinder engines whose exhaust manifolds have three or five openings? Then in the second row, I get "Parts of a V6 engine" showing a four-cylinder engine - with an 'Exhaust malvol', an 'extaust manivol', an 'exsoust manivol' an 'oilolaivt manivol'

Savvy technical audiences have noticed this - and so when a diagram has a whiff of AI about it, they become extremely skeptical and distracted.

Personally I only use AI-generated diagrams very sparingly, and very carefully.

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voakbasda 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

To be fair, the problems you describe existed before AI, though I concede it has gotten worse.

What baffles me is why anyone would think it a good idea to post and host these images? What’s that upside?

	▲	michaelt an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		> To be fair, the problems you describe existed before AI To an extent, I guess? But in the past if one wanted a diagram and didn't care about copyright they'd grab an image like https://i0.wp.com/www.engineeringchoice.org/wp-content/uploa... and reuse it unmodified. In the age of AI, one can hand it to an LLM and get https://mechaniclove.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/engine-p... in a different style. And with messed up labels and the wrong number of holes in the gaskets.
	▲	DaiPlusPlus 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		> the problems you describe existed before AI No, the problem of mass-produced, outright wrong, educational graphics flooding image-search results did not exist before 2023.
	▲	TeMPOraL 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Same reason fishermen put baits on the hooks, or hunters make weird sounds: it helps attract unsuspecting victims closer, increasing the chance of extracting some value out of them.

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PunchyHamster 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Diagram-wise I had better luck in telling it to make a text version for diagram generator, not only AI edits tend to be more correct, it's easier to fix any errors too.

As a bonus you can then prompt AI to validate whether the diagram matches article and vice versa, I've caught some small bugs like that when we migrated our docs

	▲	DaiPlusPlus 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> you can then prompt AI to validate whether the diagram matches article and vice versa No repro with Nano Banana with an infographic prompt.