These Storm Boelo images were not AI - but some people thought they were

The collapse of a stone wall in an historical churchyard may not be the most likely reason to discuss artificial intelligence (AI).

The battle over the regulation of the technology, copyright law, use of data centres and more are frequently in the spotlight just now.

But the question of AI-generated images is one that refuses to go away - and during Storm Boelo, that question reared its head again.

As the storm abated in the North Yorkshire coastal resort town of Whitby, publican Sue Taylor was out for a stroll.

She snapped images of rocks from a collapsed wall, close to the town's famed abbey, sitting neatly on the bonnets of adjacent cars and shared the pictures online.

The 48-year-old, who runs the Black Horse Pub in the town, said she saw the damage while on her normal dog-walking route.

"It was a shocker," she said, adding that the permit-only parking spaces were used by people living nearby or at the side of the landmark 199 Steps route up to the abbey.

"I used to live up near the abbey for about 12 and a half years, and although we experienced some strong winds, I'd never seen it be strong enough for a wall to be blown over during the night."

Taylor said she took two photographs and posted them on Facebook when she got back to her office, without any editing.

She did not expect what followed.

Dozens of comments on the post said the images were created or changed using AI.

"It's not something that I would ever have considered altering, let alone know where to start," Taylor explained.

She described the online doubt from internet sleuths as "a bit ridiculous".

The BBC has viewed independently-posted photographs and videos of the same damage online and spoken to eyewitnesses who corroborated Taylor's images.

Prof Theocharis Kyriacou, an expert on AI at York St John University, said he could understand some viewers' scepticism, but urged caution, particularly as "real people" had been affected by the incident.

"Some of the rocks appear to have fallen into rather neat or unusual arrangements, which might seem surprising," he added.

"However, we should remember that most of us have probably never witnessed this particular type of structural collapse before.

"Something looking unusual or unexpected does not necessarily make it artificial."

Photos from different sources, independent footage and eyewitness accounts were "more meaningful than individual impressions of what looks real or fake", Kyriacou explained.

He said the photographs from Whitby illustrated a "wider issue" as trust in visual evidence was "eroded".

"For generations, photographs have been regarded as relatively reliable representations of reality," he said.

"Now, because of the misuse of generative AI, even genuine photographs, are increasingly being questioned. That is a rather sad consequence of what is otherwise a remarkable technological achievement."

North Yorkshire may be seen by some who live there, and many visitors, as a bastion of the past.

It boasts Victorian seaside towns like Whitby, a slew of high-profile monastic ruins, such as Rievaulx Abbey and Bolton Abbey, and the famous Roman walls and medieval buildings of York itself.

But the area, like everywhere else, is faced with challenges around understanding what is real and what is not as technology races ahead.

Earlier this year, a senior York politician was targeted by AI-generated deepfake images and received police advice to step up security at his home.

The fake video appeared to show Pete Kilbane, the city council's Labour deputy leader, handing cash to men in balaclavas. An unspecified flag then appeared behind him.

Kilbane said he was "shocked" when he first saw the video, adding: "This is an attempt to undermine democracy and make legitimate, factual debate impossible."

Last month, university students raised concerns over the software used to submit assignments and check them for plagiarism, amid fears their work could be used to train tools which use AI.

The University of York Students' Union said planned changes to the licence agreement for the Turnitin system could see students' work used to teach AI models.

The university said it would review any changes to the software's terms and conditions.

A spokesperson for Turnitin said its policy would not be updated any earlier than September 2027 to "give us time to discuss any changes with customers".

Kyriacou said AI-generated images and video posted during deadly floods in Nepal were a "particularly troubling example" of the technology being misused.

He encouraged people to "question what they encounter online rather than accept everything at face value".

"But there is an important distinction between healthy scepticism and automatically dismissing something as fake simply because it looks extraordinary."

A spokesperson for English Heritage, which operates Whitby Abbey, said the incident involving the wall had not impacted its operations.

A Whitby Abbey Illuminated event was separately cancelled because of the weather over the weekend but resumed on Monday evening, they added.

The BBC has contacted The Parish of Whitby and Ruswarp, which is responsible for St Mary's Church, and North Yorkshire Council for a comment.

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