Has anyone else noticed the increased use of uploaded AI generated images on MakerWorld? I thought the goal of the new requirement for REAL photos was an improvement, but more and more images I see are clearly AI generated. Very disappointing!
The only way maker world catches rule breakers is by the public reporting it. There are no eyes on uploads.
I would contend that it is not a good system. Unpaid nonauthoritative volunteers make for a bad policing force. Fighting slop is a thing that requires tools and data access, itās an employee role.
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That rule is a flop.
Until they require the cover photo or at least the 2nd photo to be a real image it does not mean much. I am seeing more and more people burying the real image past 5 to 10 rendered images.
Relying on people being honest does not work.
Relying on user reports does not work either. Reports mean so little when they never get accepted or ghost you.
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even with that moderators started slacking, i reported a couple of contest uploads, which had 3d renders and another with AI photo but no real photos on both, they responded by only removing the print profile only but not taking down the whole model.
this make me care less about what is being uploaded, as far as if they wont take proper action then why should i do itā¦if you know what i mean.
Well, I only saw it again today when I was adjusting a cover image. Itās not mandatory to use a real picture as cover. Thatās already been mentioned. As long as itās just a request:
Hereās such an example of āeverything AIā covers: when you take a look at the real photos all the models look horrible.
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It is very deceiving. Even if it is the best view. Yes you could post process some to look like the image. Not all it is not even the same model.
you donāt want to ban not real photos altogether. It is much easier to see some things like assy, or inner working.
Some of the maker community are sleezbags. They purposely mislead. But I think most of the community is well intended, and just ignorant how it is misleading. The sleezbags sure get around. And make lots of complications for the majority.
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Itās got to the stage now where I wonāt consider printing a model until someone else has uploaded a photo of their printed model, whether it be on Makerwolrd or anywhere else.
A friend downloaded a model for me to print, which only had rendered images uploaded. When he sent it over to me it turned out it was only 11mm long (lay on itās back). When scaled up to the 100mm he wanted it was woeful.
Iāve previously given a poor review of a profile a couple of times and (Iām assuming) the model uploader has complained about a non-5 star review and had it taken down.
One of the things I like about using Makerworld is that the profiles are already uploaded and can be printed with minimal interference from me.
Some of my pet hates include
- No IRL photos from multiple angles
- Holes for power feeds added (chances of me using the same connectors are limited. So why stick a massive hole in the back of your print?)
- Loading a profile with redundant filaments.
There are lots of great uploaders, theyāre the ones who get the boosts, likes and shares. They deserve it for putting in the time and effort into their creations rather than some AI generated slop they couldnāt even be bothered to print themselves.
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And then there are guys like the one from this screenshot, who upload up to THREE models in one day. They all have very limited āphotosā, that i.m.h.o. are just paste & cut. Most likely from the Maker Lab model paste into his own background. Some seem to āfloatā, most lack shadow.
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Are AI images a problem? No, they arenātā¦ The problem is idiots (users) who are willing to download (and, without at least 10 seconds of thought, try to print) any nonsense they see, just because āphotoā (picture) looks nice, it has lots of colors, andā¦ (name it) ā¦ Thatās why AI images were created in the first placeā¦
If the end user used their brain (or at least whatās left of it), they would realize within 5 seconds that the ābeauty that caught their eyeā is simply not real - it cannot be printed ā¦ not with their current setup, like A1 mini without AMS, at least. In such case, 99.99% of AI nonsense would go unnoticed and disappear on its own within a few weeks (itās called ānatural evolutionā).
Unfortunately, more and more people/users seems to be not thinking beings, but just āclickersā on the āPrepare to printā buttonā¦ ideally from a Handy app ā¦ No brain, no thinking involved ā¦ if this continues, then (IMO) any fight against AI nonsense is pointlessā¦ where there is no reasonā¦ no rules will helpā¦
And while Iām on the subject of rulesā¦ these are rules that MW introducedā¦ (even I understand and agree) so let them do their work themselves ā¦ donāt ask me to do the work of employees who do their jobs badly. Or (maybe/perhaps) those employees arenāt even there (???). My personal role ends when I recognize nonsense and donāt print itā¦ I donāt care, if BL didnāt pay meā¦
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I see where youāre coming from but because of the realities of how those who want to abuse the system use AI images, in practice they are a problem.
Thereās just too many examples still where people use AI to make images that donāt honestly represent what a user will actually be able to print. Worse, as AI gets better those images will get harder and harder for people to spot.
I definitely agree that users who download models with AI images bear some responsibility but have been talking with a newish user who apparently wasnāt aware of the role support plays and limitations on what support can do. This place has users of all skill levels and while some can easily spot problem models, not everyone can and itās not reasonable to expect them to.
Thereās another designer here I talk with who likes to use AI to āstageā his models and provide a background. Nothing at all deceptive in doing that IMO but not everyone is discerning or mindful of the rules.
Just my opinion, but I support the rules on banning AI images in model pages except in some circumstances (like setting the ambiance) but from my own experience Iāve seen that AI can still warp or distort the image of the model itself while adding ambiance around it.
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I understand what youāre saying, and I actually agree with most of itā¦ and I admit that my original opinion may sound too harsh/ultimatum-like (to some)ā¦ however, the essence of what I wrote remains:
ā¦ but the fight against AI reminds me of the fight against human stupidity ā¦ actually, it doesnāt remind me ā¦ it is the same thing ā¦ and the fight against human stupidity simply cannot be won (*) ā¦ We can set more and more rules, come up with new, increasingly restrictive ones, but if we donāt start demanding at least 0.001% of their own judgment from those who are primarily responsibleānamely, āstupid usersāāitās simply a lost battle from the start.
ā¦ you can never protect anyone from their own stupidity, which they themselves donāt even want to fightā¦ itās too much work and effortā¦ they just somehow expect that even in a world of their own stupidity, no one will make them look stupidā¦ and thatās just not possible 
It will end up with us introducing more and more rules and restrictions that will only restrict normal people, but idiots will always find a way to be idiotsā¦
- Actuallyā¦ in the fight against human stupidity, there is one way to winā¦ paradoxically, the simplest oneā¦ donāt do anything and, if necessary, solve the āvictimāsā problems with wordsā¦ if youāre an idiot, donāt be surprisedā¦ next time, be smarterā¦ and donāt bother othersā¦ Every lesson has a priceā¦ you got yours today for almost freeā¦ it cost you a few hours of printer time and 200-500g of filamentā¦ it could have been worseā¦
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So I reread what I wrote and thought it would be good to add three things:
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Even I fully stand by what I wrote, I should admit that my opinion may be too harsh for todayās timesā¦ However, I am an old fart (63 years old) and I come (as do my opinions) from a time when no one was so ācompulsory niceā to anyone elseā¦ and it is also possible that something does not come across quite as I meant it (I am not a native English speaker).
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Maybe itās not the best idea to start such discussions on a Saturdayās evening when you come back from the pub after a few beersā¦
Some social conventions that are not entirely āfixed under your skinā may not work perfectly -
Basically, I wrote what I wanted to write, and Iām not going to discuss or elaborate on it, so if I will not respond to someoneās (future) post, itās nothing personalā¦
Have a nice day ā¦ and before you will try to print anything, think twice
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I understand your argument; I really can see where youāre coming from. Unfortunately, however, itās easy to see where this is leading because thereās a perfect example of it.
cults3d
Do you know this site? Itās actually very well known and highly reputable. In terms of reliability and complex modelling, it used to be the best compared to all other sites. Even Bambu could never compete with them.
Then, at the beginning of the year, everything changed: AI flooded the market. Designers who earned their living from it became virtually āinvisibleā. In other words, visibility was no longer guaranteed. Many big names in the 3D modeling community have left the site.
Of course, ultimately, itās the user who decides what to print and pay for, but AI is putting off professional creators. This is not about clicks, but about hard-nosed business and income. Professional CAD and Blender artists only make their models available online for free or at a low price if they have a large enough user base of random buyers, as well as loyal regular customers. Itās the average that counts.
What is the other alternative? We can take a look at that too:
Gumroad
Then you pay the real price, the labor hours: a model costs upwards of $50 for the file. Iāve bought there many times, because I get uncompromising quality.
In this case, the problem is AI because it reduces visibility. Ultimately, MakerWorld is also very much about money. Not for everyone, but it is in the larger context. Hey, I love AI for some things too - āmy spell checker says hiā - but it doesnāt pay the rent or working hours.
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Nah. Youāre a young pupā¦ 
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The most hardened of us that dedicated our free time to reporting the rule breaking offenders because BL/MW is too cheap to employ someone, have been put of by the staff rejecting clear evidence of failures to adhere to the rules.
So, even their unpaid labour is no longer prepared to waste our time.
Bambu Lab seems intent on the AI slop succeeding and rule breakerās prospering.
Coupled with their incompetent rule changes that lack the most basic elements of a changelog (so, everyone knows who broke a rule and who wasnāt subject to it), who wants to help?
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We all know itā¦ but just for context: To this day, BL keeps bugging me to finally use the AI function. I keep getting push notifications about it. 
At the top right - MakerLab is the AI function:
I should make one of those funny figures using AI on MakerWorld site and upload it to get my points (no, I wonāt).
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I think there is no hope to get most people to engage their brain.
Most models it is easy to tell that is a render and not real.
But I have been in the field for 40+ years. Have post processed many prototypes to look like the renders Electro plating to get an Unreal render like picture. I am reasonably intelligent, and have the experience to back up what I think.
most people these days believe the fake new (AI generated models).
It is understandable that a newbe to 3d printing does not understand the limitations and ramifications of the media. And start mixing up a resin resolution print that has been finished with a high speed FDM print (low quality). Then not satisfied with how bad theirs looks. So they ask AI to do the work for them. This just fuels the others. And perpetuates the problem. They are not as stupid as it sounds. They are just ignorant.
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Iāve got a large back catalogue from another site of models that Iāve not printed out in a couple of years. if I were to print them out and photograph them it would cost a fortune and take weeks, and since there is no batch upload available having to manually would take ages as well.
There simply isnāt a big enough payback for me to even bother, so my back catalogue is only going up as or when I need to gets some site tokens for something. and then itās going to be the low hanging fruit.
maker worldās requirements are putting people off, as itās often only feasible to upload in quantity by using ai automation
so long as its an ai image thatās roughly representative, Iām all for it. weāre here for 3d models, not to judge a photoshopping contest.
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