As we've pointed out...
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| P/C Gemini [cartoon of young woman looking at mushroom images] |
... the only constant in our online world is change. That's VERY true for what kinds of things you can search for, and how you can do the search.
Today is part 1 of 3 (and I might add more next week!) about how to think about and use image search.
1. Caution: Search by image is pretty good, but if it's a critical or high-stakes search, double and triple check the identification. Here's an example. Maybe you've seen this cartoon floating around the internet...
Big important point: DO NOT rely on image search to identify non-poisonous mushrooms. (Or berries, or leaves, or ...)
Here's an easy example of a misidentification you don't want to experience...
This is poison oak:
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| Poison oak (Toxicodendron pubescens). P/C Dan. Do not touch. |
But on one search-by-image, this was identified as either poison oak OR as a kind of (non-toxic) Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata 'Lowii').
Here's what Boston Ivy looks like in its red-phase, so you can understand the misidentification.
You can sit in one of these vines with impunity. The other will leave you with a wretched rash. Don't be that person.
2. (Advanced) You can still use the date operators (before: and after:) with image search. For instance, if you're looking for the original version of the above cartoon, you'll quickly get overwhelmed. Asking Gemini to find the original version just doesn't seem to work.
But you, as a skilled SearchResearcher, can add date restrictions to the search.
Once you restrict the date by adding it into the search box at the top:
Once you do this, you'll see something very different. The AI-drawn cartoon version seems to have been inspired by a pastiche image (published in October, 2025) featuring a real red mushroom and the OpenAI logo.
If you change the before: date to 2025-12-1 you see the first instances of the "classic" form of the meme:
More tomorrow...
Keep searching.
When you post a date with the "before:" or "after:" tags, do you need the day, the month, and the year, or is the year enough? Also, how does the LLM differentiate between American-style dating (month-day-year, such as 7-4-1776), European-style dates (day-month-year, like 4-7-1776), or East Asian-style (year-month-day, such as 1776-7-4)?
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading this, and for answering my questions.
Quick answer: you can do just the year (e.g., before:2004 ); otherwise, you have to do it ini the format of before:yyyy-mm-dd
ReplyDeleteHope this helps. (Should have included it in the article. Nice catch.)
Love this post - as I regularly ask AI (usually gemini as it's on my phone and I can take a photo as I ask or even a video) about fungi I see on walks. I do agree you need to be careful and sensible. I saw some mushrooms growing on a tree bark - that were very small. Gemini said they were oyster mushrooms. I wasn't sure so asked how long till they were bigger (i.e. an edible size). When I asked again, a couple of weeks later, they weren't and were a poisonous (or inedible) variety. Not all inedible mushrooms are poisonous. I recently saw some blushing bracket fungi. I was pretty sure they weren't one of my favourites - chicken of the wood. Gemini wasn't sure but asked me to photo the underside - and immediately said what it was (and was correct).
ReplyDeleteSo it comes down to prompting. First, ask what the plant is. THEN ask if it could be anything else. Third ask for further refinement by describing the habitat and then ask to confirm. Ideally try more than one AI. So far, the AI has got it right for me, but I don't assume. I clarify.
In the case of the Poison Oak, this is my ChatGPT conversation:
https://chatgpt.com/share/6a4589e8-2670-83eb-9c00-45726e2b86be
When I said this was a USA plant, it immediately said to be careful (after reassuring answers about what it was that were wrong including Virginia Creeper and Boston Ivy - saying that Poison Ivy was much less likely, especially in the UK). It said it could be Poison Ivy, and then when I asked about Poison Oak it said it could be poison oak, especially if the photo was taken in the western US, Pacific states, or parts of the southeastern US.
Claude (using Fable) was much more definite. I asked "what plant is this. It's a USA photo i.e. a plant from the USA." and Claude immediately said: This is Pacific poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum), a plant found along the US West Coast — and one you'll want to keep well away from....If the photo was taken in the eastern US rather than the West Coast, the alternative candidate would be Atlantic poison oak (T. pubescens) or poison ivy, which are close relatives with the same rash-causing oil — but the lobed leaflet shape here points strongly to poison oak.
So ultimately it comes down to being sensible, not accepting the first answer but asking for clarification and alternatives, AND verifying independently before eating!