AI is making the used car market a dangerous place
Consumer reporter Tom Jervis shares his concerns about buying a car in the age of AI
AI is getting frighteningly pixel- perfect when it comes to replicating reality. If you’ve ever seen the viral ‘Will Smith Eating Spaghetti Test’, you’ll be acutely aware of how generative AI has evolved in just a few years, from depicting a distorted, almost expressionist impression of reality to something that can easily deceive all but the trained eye.
We recently talked about the perils of AI overviews when researching your next car, but the pitfalls extend far beyond that. Bogus classified ads have existed for years, with people posting images of other people’s cars instead of their own. But with the power and availability of AI image-generation tools,
Pandora’s box has been ripped wide open. That’s not to say I’m against editing the photographs in an ad to make your car look its best; colour-grading and removing litter and lampposts can help draw the eye to the focus of the image. Yet the question arises as to where the line should be drawn.
Is it acceptable, for example, to digitally clean up a bit of dirt you forgot to wipe off? What about using software to buff out a small scratch? Or deploying AI to replace an entire dented panel?
What about changing the paint colour to one that isn’t on offer? Or fabricating a car that doesn’t even exist? This last one might sound ridiculous, but it’s a genuine scam many car buyers now face in the wild-west environment that is the online used car market.
Take a minute to scroll through largely unmoderated online marketplaces and you’ll find AI ads of cars sitting in lavish, airbrushed car dealerships or glamorous locations surrounded by uncannily similar-looking female models, all in an attempt to grab the attention of potential buyers.
Rather than creating intrigue, this should instead set off alarm bells. Someone selling their eight-year-old Kia XCeed probably hasn’t done a shoot on the waterfront in Saint Tropez, so it’s worth taking whatever they describe or show with a pinch of salt.
With all of this in mind, it only reinforces the rule that you should buy from a trusted dealer – such as those on the Auto Express Buy A Car Marketplace – and take the time to view a car in person before parting with any cash.
Performing HPI history checks gives you a broader perspective on what you’re buying, too, plus paying close attention to imagery or descriptions for any AI idiosyncrasies in an advert could expose some fakery. Because in a world where generative AI is now in the palms of everyone, seeing should not automatically mean believing.
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