What does “care” mean in our lives, and how is it represented by AI?

Developments in text-to-image (T2I) AI tools enable users to generate highly realistic images from textual descriptions. These AI-generated images are increasingly produced and used across creative, professional, and everyday contexts — yet the assumptions embedded in AI outputs remain under-explored.

This project investigates how the concept “care” is (mis)represented in AI-generated images through a visual analysis of 140 images of “care” generated by Midjourney. The findings indicate that Midjourney is reproducing stereotypical, reductive, and inaccurate representations of care that often conflate care with older age, reduce care to formal care and a one-to-one relationship, and visualise care as feminine and through touch.

Building upon Nichole’s previous work on images of care in newspapers and took by people in their daily lives, this project invites critical reflection on the biases and misconceptions about care in our society, while considering the role of technology in shaping these perceptions. The project further explored the potentials and pitfalls to mitigate these biases and create alternative representations through prompt engineering, and developed a reflexive prompting framework guiding practice.

Findings from the study informed a public exhibition and workshop series designed to raise public awareness and spark discussions about AI, care, and visual culture. The study has also been integrated into Master’s and Open Learning courses, with the aim to raise students’ awareness and critical exploration of AI tools.