Meta has some advice for those of us who overlooked the chance to witness the Northern Lights on Thursday night: why not use AI to create a simulated version?However, Threads users responding to Meta's suggestion, which included three AI-generated images of the Aurora Borealis posted last night, appear to disagree. Here’s what Meta showcased: The images depict the Northern Lights illuminating the Golden Gate Bridge, a city skyline, and a ferris wheel. These visuals seem designed to capitalize on the trending phenomenon of individuals sharing their photographs of the stunning and rare light display that spread across the United States on Thursday night. Once you sift through the initial comments featuring users' own AI-generated Northern Lights images, the replies vary greatly, ranging from thoughtful critiques: To furious all-caps outbursts: To light-hearted humor: One individual, who identifies as an “astronaut/particle physicist and AI scientist, ” provided particularly insightful feedback: Meanwhile, others contributed authentic photographs they captured of the event: Similar to the Olympics advertisement that Google withdrew, Meta's social media team lacks attunement to the current moment. The posts users share are not merely to flaunt beautiful images (although that's certainly an aspect!).

They're also about engaging in a collective celebration of a unique, shared experience. This isn’t the right occasion to introduce an AI-generated image. Society is still grappling with complex issues surrounding AI, including its impact on photography and the ethics of training it on the internet’s vast collection of artists, writers, musicians, and photographers. Until these discussions reach a resolution, posts like Meta’s are likely to continue missing the mark.