John-Deere-Truck-AI-Image

We know AI has been the #1 topic in all aspects of life since ChatGPT and NVIDIA’s AI efforts accelerated. Data centers are being built around the US, which has been another hot topic. But that’s not the focus today (maybe later though!). Recently, the "John Deere Truck" has become viral. Many may have believed it to be true, but yet again, we are here to say “myth: busted.”

Disclaimer: At the bottom of this blog is a handful of our content on AI, Technology Shortages and other myth-busting moments. I highly recommend you dig into those stories!

The Infamous John Deere Truck

This short video depicts what WQAD News 8 describes as a “mashup of other current production trucks,” which may be something worth looking into for designing cars! OK, I will avoid that rabbit hole. The video looks real, the truck looks like a real truck, so how do we know it’s fake? Aside from news sources and various other sources stating so, there are some markers that we can look for to tell.

The best advice I can bestow on determining if something is real falls on something my step-father burned into my head, “Trust, but validate.”

Sniffing Out AI-Generated Content

This is a skill that I have yet to strengthen, but sometimes the content is just obvious. In the early stages of AI, it was very telling. For example, this video below is only 2 years old. It’s blatantly obvious that it’s AI, but look at how far we have come in processing imagery and videos.

Silly, I know. It’s a good laugh and ‘milestone’ to AI’s progress. So how can you tell if content is AI-generated?

  • Reverse image search: Google and other search engines have an image search option in the search bar. Screenshot and send it through there to see if there’s anything that says it’s fake. This is also super helpful for finding specific articles of clothing from TV shows, by the way.
  • Look at hands and feet: AI is horrendous with hands and feet still. They constantly shift, change, move and gain new features. I saw a video of a cow ramming a farmer and it somehow transformed its hooves into running shoes.
  • Obviously the John Deere Truck does not have hands or feet. So what would we be looking for? Well, WQAD already said that it borrows features from other trucks, so mix-matched pieces are one sign. Other signs for objects would be weirdly rendered wheels, unnatural textures/lighting, or the design is just simply impossible.
  • Before you throw your tomatoes at me, hear me out; Use AI to ask if it's AI. Google Gemini can be asked if something is AI. Fighting fire with fire here, but it’s viable!

Question, Research, Confirm

I found the actual video showcasing the John Deere Truck that has an estimated 19,806,994,000 monthly visits since it was published 8 months ago. There is half a frame at the very beginning that says it's AI! For ease of access, here's a screenshot of it. Not to mention, it does not have consistent punctuation.

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Having this flash on the screen and disappear within one second is sneaky and something I would consider an "under-handed" practice. Out of the 19 billion people who have seen this video in some form or another, how many do you think caught this? In my opinion, not enough if this ended up on a news station for them to clear up.

Some AI content is goofy and is worth the laugh, but there will always be knock-offs, fakes, misunderstandings, etc. It's been happening for centuries. It just so happens that in this generation it massively shifted in a short amount of time. Do not be afraid to question the integrity and validity of what you see!

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