Creating AI images requires critical thinking during both the creation and review steps. First, creators must carefully plan and describe every detail of their idea, otherwise the AI will guess what to include. Second, users must analyze the AI created image. By comparing the output to their original goal, they can identify what the AI missed and rewrite their prompt to perfect the image.
Knowing when to use AI-generated images is an important part of digital responsibility. The examples below explain what is and is not appropriate. For school assignments, the process is clear: students must first verify that their teacher allows AI-generated content. If it is permitted, users must honestly disclose that AI was used to create their images.
Brainstorming and ideation: Sparking creative inspiration, exploring visual styles, or sketching out early-stage ideas when starting a project.
Presentations and multimedia design: Incorporating AI generated visuals to enhance slide decks, posters, or digital projects where original photography or art isn't the main focus.
Abstract visualization: Generating images to represent conceptual, futuristic, or hypothetical themes that do not have physical or historical real-world examples.
Personal creative expression: Experimenting with prompts for fun, leisure, or developing personal hobbies like digital storytelling.
Falsifying reality or evidence: Creating hyper-realistic AI images intended to trick people into believing fake events, news stories, or historical records actually happened.
Academic and artistic dishonesty: Submitting AI-generated work to represent your own original artistic skill, drawing ability, or research data.
Impersonation and non-consensual depiction: Generating images that mimic, alter, or depict real individuals, such as classmates, teachers, or public figures, without their permission.
Violating community trust or rules: Using AI visuals to bypass assignment requirements, avoid doing original creative work, or deceive others online.
Creating an image is only the first step; users must also evaluate the final result. Every AI image needs to be reviewed to determine if it is appropriate for use. Creators must ask critical questions about the output, adjusting what they look for based on the unique purpose of their project.
What is the Purpose?
Why am I creating this image?
What style or genre am I going for? (Fantasy and sci-fi give you total creative freedom, but non-fiction projects require realism.)
Does the image actually match my written description or story?
Is it Historically Accurate?
Could this show up in real life during this time period?
Are there modern technologies, clothes, or buildings in the background that shouldn't exist yet?
Does it respectfully and accurately represent the people, cultures, and settings of that era?
Is it Scientifically Accurate?
Could this actually exist in nature?
Is the environment or biome correct for the topic I am presenting?
Does the visual follow real-world science instead of impossible rules?
Is it Physically Accurate?
Does the subject have the right number of arms, legs, or fingers?
Do objects follow basic physics, or are there floating tables, weird reflections, or missing tires?
Are the colors, details, and features correct for what I am trying to show?
Did I Give Credit?
Did I clearly label or state that this visual was created using AI?
Am I following my school's or teacher's rules for citing AI tools?
Last Edited: August 26, 2026