Pitfalls of online artificial intelligence generators: when your face becomes a product

What cost directors and visual effects editors thousands of dollars last year, as one might say last month, can now be done in minutes by artificial intelligence. Not so long ago, creating a cult film similar to “bullet time” from “The Matrix” would have required sophisticated technology, dozens of experts and months of work. The creators of the original scene, for example, had to build a huge set of 130 analog cameras, which they carefully placed in an arc around the actor. And although the result changed the history of cinema, the team was able to determine whether the shot was successful only after developing dozens of filmstrips.

Today, the same principle can be imitated by several artificial intelligence tools, as well as a regular smartphone. For example, in a recent experiment by the Corridor Crew channel, the authors created a modern version of the “bullet time” effect using just three iPhones and the ComfyUI tool. Here, artificial intelligence has replaced dozens of traditional processes – from filling missing frames to spatial interpolation and scene depth mapping. The combination of neural networks, z-depth channels and controlled motion masks produced a result comparable to the original film scene, but this time without expensive film equipment and complex post-processing steps.

And the same principle is gradually flowing into everyday use: from short videos to editing portraits and restoring old photos. AI-powered tools can restore faded images, sharpen faces, or even add missing parts of an image in minutes. What once required the patience of an experienced graphic designer and hours of work in professional software is now a matter of a few clicks. While this new era of visual creativity brings freedom and freedom to the creative process, at the same time, this easily accessible “magic” comes with certain risks in the way these services handle your data.

You might argue, “I already share photos of myself on Instagram and Facebook every day, so what’s the difference?” The truth is that even these platforms claim to license our content and use it to target advertising or train their own systems. But the fundamental difference from dedicated AI generators is intent and intensity. If for social networks data collection is a by-product of their main function and is primarily focused on generating targeted advertising, then for AI editors collecting your biometric data is the main product. Therefore, it is necessary to know well what type of content you are providing to them. I myself make extensive use of online AI tools, including image generation. However, I must always be mindful that the image is not too personal for me to share on such a service. The photos you upload are processed by these servers completely differently than regular social networks. AI doesn’t “see” your face, but systematically deconstructs it into a mathematical model. It analyzes geometry, skin texture, distance between eyes, lip shape and converts everything into machine-readable data. This transforms your face from a photo into a reusable digital element that you can then use not only in the product you want, but also to improve your own models.

This tends to be the basic business model of most “free” AI services. Operating large server farms and developing complex models requires enormous costs. If you don’t pay for the service directly, you hand over your data in return. By posting personal photos, you convey valuable information. Terms of use, which most users simply click on without reading carefully, often contain provisions that grant operators a broad, perpetual license to use, modify and further process your data.

Even if we assume that services have the best intentions, there is still a significant risk of data leakage. Centralized databases with millions or billions of photos are an attractive target for hackers. Once hacked, your identity may be compromised forever. If, in addition, the service is tied to contact information, such as email, linking the data with a specific person will no longer be difficult.

Thus, it is generally appropriate to distinguish between the use of free online AI tools for general creative experimentation and more serious work or professional creativity where copyright, privacy and terms of service implications must be carefully considered. I myself work in an industry where non-disclosure agreements are regularly signed to ensure that no data is leaked to online AI services. This is why, in my case, it is often worth investing in my own powerful hardware, where I can work more flexibly with AI and have full control over the data and how it is processed. Local AI allows me to fine-tune every detail of the workflow exactly to my needs, and if I want, I can also connect large models from companies like OpenAI inside ComfyUI using the API and trust them only with the part of the workflow that I explicitly allow. On the contrary, online services are often significantly limited due to their simplicity, they offer minimal opportunities to influence the result, and their models always generate the same type of output, which may not always meet the user’s expectations.

I myself have been trying to move most of my data out of cloud services and host it locally in recent years. Thanks to the ever-increasing performance of GeForce RTX graphics cards and modern hardware, it’s easier than ever. Powerful graphics are now standard on both gaming PCs and laptops, so there’s no longer a need to rely solely on cloud solutions. Tools like Stable Diffusion with ComfyUI allow virtually anyone to run the best AI models directly on their computer, with full control over the result and how it is processed. A powerful computer or laptop that you buy from Datart.cz, for example, can offer you much more than just more FPS in the latest version of Battlefield. In addition, the experienced staff will be happy to advise you on which direction to go if you are looking for a reliable AI partner, because they don’t call themselves true electrical engineering specialists for nothing.

And devices with GeForce RTX graphics cards are the ideal choice for running AI locally thanks to powerful cores, advanced architecture and driver-level optimizations. ComfyUI is designed to work directly with RTX AI, taking advantage of extremely fast data parallelization capabilities and leveraging hardware support for AI features without any compromises.

The latest laptops with GeForce RTX 50 are available within 30 minutes at your local store thanks to the RYCHLART service, and in just a few minutes they can not only run complex AI generators such as Stable Diffusion or Llama, but also local video editing using AI video filters, image upscaling using DLSS or Real-Time Super Resolution, training of your own local models, acceleration of sound and text synthesis, advanced physics. real-time simulation or ray tracing. Experimenters and content creators have no problem using advanced tools to create 3D objects or artificial intelligence systems that combine text, image and sound. And support for artificial intelligence libraries such as TensorRT and CUDA-X AI further helps with programming and process automation.

For example, when I think back to that old black and white photo of my parents, the process of improving AI is surprisingly simple and accessible even to those who are not very familiar with AI programs. Just download the ComfyUI app and install these two repositories using the built-in manager. The first is the AI ​​model itself (https://github.com/piddnad/DDColor). Moreover, so that you do not have to build complex paths in the workflow, a custom node has been prepared specifically for this model, which greatly simplifies the work – only 3 nodes (https://github.com/kijai/ComfyUI-DDColor).

You then insert a load image node, then a DDColor node, and finally a save image node. And that’s all. In the DDColor custom node, you can experiment with different settings and intensities until the result matches your imagination. And you won’t believe how happy it was when dad first saw his old photographs in bright colors – the emotions they evoked were priceless. This simple but effective way to preserve and revive family history shows how powerful and accessible artificial intelligence can be.

Thanks to ComfyUI’s openness and built-in template workflow, you can experiment with anything you can think of. From creating images from just text to short video clips. You can even find a sample image2video workflow in the template, and without any complicated setup, my mom was in the car.

The main advantage of this approach is absolutely obvious and significant: absolute confidentiality. Your personal photos never leave your hard drive. They are not uploaded to any foreign server or analyzed by any corporation. The entire process, from input photo to final generated image, occurs in the safety of your own digital ecosystem. Another key benefit is unlimited freedom and flexibility. You are not limited by the operator interface and filters. You can download and combine different models and customize the settings for each generation. Your laptop with GeForce RTX transforms from an entertainment tool into a creative and secure studio.

However, despite all the threats, it would be a mistake to view AI only as a tool of destruction. First of all, it is an extremely powerful assistant. An excellent example of such a positive and at the same time essentially private use is the project of improving this old photograph. This is a task of enormous personal value, a memory we would never trust to an anonymous server. This is where the power of local processing and the ability to harness the incredible power of artificial intelligence to reconstruct family history is on full display, all in the complete safety and privacy of your own computer.

The choice is yours: either you will be just a product in someone else’s system, or you will be a sovereign creator in your own world. If you are looking for a new powerful laptop suitable for AI features, powered by GeForce RTX graphics cards, continue to use Datart.