Too bad to be fraud, Midjourney has yet to embark in science

Abstract

AbstractArtificial Intelligence (AI) promises great benefits for data management, for image analysis, and for new discovery, but also creates unprecedented potential for fraud. This brief study explores whether images created by AI pose a threat to the integrity of figures in scientific publications. An attempt was made to use a leading AI image-generation engine, Midjourney, to create plausible facsimiles of images that are commonly depicted in manuscripts in the biological sciences. We conclude that a widely available AI for generated images is not a threat to integrity, yet, but may be in the near future.