Google Images is filling up with AI slop to the point of unusability for some purposes, even content that isn't actively engaging in SEO shenanigans is getting pushed to the top. In some cases even the key image that Google displays first on a normal search is fake, like when searching for the "tank man" prioritized showing a fake AI selfie from the mans perspective. It's still there in fact, just not the first result anymore, but Google might have demoted it manually after the backlash.
Looking to browse works by a specific artist? Good luck, Google evidently can't tell the difference between a genuine J. C. Leyendecker piece and anything shat out by a "Leyendecker style" image generation model. Search for "Yoji Shinkawa" and this https://i.imgur.com/RYghaoY.png is currently the first thing you see, which isn't even close to his style, but Google has somehow determined it's the image that best represents him. The full images page shows his actual work but interspersed about half-and-half with AI imitations.
My speculation is that Google prioritizes showing recent results, presumed to be the freshest most up-to-date information, but of course for a historical event like Tiananmen Square or an artist who died in 1951, nearly all of the fresh results past a certain point are AI simulacra.
Looking to browse works by a specific artist? Good luck, Google evidently can't tell the difference between a genuine J. C. Leyendecker piece and anything shat out by a "Leyendecker style" image generation model. Search for "Yoji Shinkawa" and this https://i.imgur.com/RYghaoY.png is currently the first thing you see, which isn't even close to his style, but Google has somehow determined it's the image that best represents him. The full images page shows his actual work but interspersed about half-and-half with AI imitations.
My speculation is that Google prioritizes showing recent results, presumed to be the freshest most up-to-date information, but of course for a historical event like Tiananmen Square or an artist who died in 1951, nearly all of the fresh results past a certain point are AI simulacra.