This 1888 Tacoma photo is gorgeous in color. The trouble is, the AI made
up the signs.
Someone shared a beautifully colorized version of an old street corner
here — Pacific & 11th, around 1888. Stunning work. One problem: the AI
rewrote the signs. The real-estate sign, the firm's name, even a whole
storefront — all changed into words that were never there.
So I ran it through a second AI tool to be sure. It got the signs wrong
too — differently wrong. Two tools, two answers, and neither matched what
the Tacoma Public Library's own caption says was actually painted on that
wall.
Here's the thing worth knowing: these tools can't read. They see the shape
of lettering and guess plausible letters to fill it. It comes out crisp and
confident every time — and that's exactly why it fools people. The prettier
it looks, the less we question it.
I wrote up what to watch for, using this very photo. If you love old
pictures, it's worth two minutes — the link's on the image.