This site previously included AI-generated illustrations on some pages as a service to readers.
The goal was to help reduce confusion, especially when people have similar names, like American activists Susan Ann Robbins and Susan Ann Robins. It also helped improve search results at the time.
They were discontinued in 2025 following artist feedback. Artist Maia Kobabe made the compelling case about the ethical problems with using AI illustrations.
Many profiles of people, including my own, included AI caricatures. Caricature is an art form that exaggerates features. As a minority, I am always aware that caricatures may come into question due to misuse in the past. The images were rendered by a free AI app called Voila. It was able to render most people acceptably, but some people who had unusual appearance or embodied a stereotype were rendered by the AI in ways that some people found insensitive.
Is this the greatest illustration of me ever rendered? No, but this AI illustration was free to make.
I believe the caricatures were all respectfully rendered and based on actual images when available.
Investigation
Shortly after this site began including illustrations of profiled people, questions began to come in. This page addresses some of those questions.
After an accusation about the AI llustration of gender critical troll Jesse Singal, I commenced a thorough investigation into the allegations.
First, it’s very difficult for either humans or AI to caricature people who fit a stereotype. Comedian Tim Dillon and many others have uncharitably noted that Singal looks like an infamous meme. Singal’s gender critical friend Katie Herzog also looks like a meme, making it very difficult to render Herzog sensitively as well.
They also “ironically” use homophobic and antisemitic imagery in self-promotions to demonstrate how edgy and cool they are. That means we must rise above their troubling behavior.
I got out some digital calipers to check the original against the illustration and found the following in the artwork:
- Eyes are bigger, more symmetrical, and looking forward
- Brows are the same
- Nose is same (but straighter and less pointed tip)
- Lips are fuller (lower teeth don’t show)
- Jawline is stronger
- Complexion is healthier
- Facial hair is darker
- Hairline is higher
- Ears are lower
Based on this exhaustive analysis, I have concluded that there is no issue here, though I do suspect the lower ears may have caused an optical illusion for some viewers. Overall, I believe the AI illustration is more flattering than the source image.
A reader pointed out that perhaps the issue is the lens used to capture the image. Out of an abundance of caution, I re-ran the AI on some images. In just a couple of years, the AI had gotten much more accurate:
Here is the improvement in AI rendering of gender critical troll Katie Herzog in the same time period:
If you ever have any questions or concerns about any content on this site, please do not hesitate to contact me.