AI-generated stamp: Deutsche Post responds to alleged error
Deutsche Post sells crypto stamps. However, a closer look at a new motif, Cologne Cathedral, reveals two details.
(Image: Deutsche Post / Bearbeitung: heise online)
At the end of last week, many Swiss Post customers received information from Deutsche Post about the new crypto stamp. At the end of 2023, Swiss Post had already published a crypto stamp including an NFT with the "Brandenburg Gate" motif, and now "Cologne Cathedral" is following in the "Historic buildings in Germany" series. It comes in four different colors, depending on the degree of rarity.
(Image:Â Deutsche Post)
Pink is the rarest color, followed by blue, purple and yellow. The combined product from Swiss Post consisting of a physical 1 euro stamp and NFT costs around 10 euros. Which color customers receive is a matter of chance.
The AI DALL-E, which was used to generate the Cologne Cathedral motif, has added details that are either outdated or never existed. The "errors" were noticed by the Kölner Stadtanzeiger newspaper, among others.
(Image:Â Deutsche Post / Bearbeitung: heise online)
The picture shows a rose window above the main entrance to the cathedral, which never existed. In addition, the scaffolding depicted on the stamp has no longer existed since 2021. The details that deviate from the original are not errors, a DHL Group spokesperson told heise online: "We simply left the depiction of Cologne Cathedral to artificial intelligence and deliberately refrained from intervening in the design process afterward. The result also shows how artificial intelligence works, that not everything is always true to life".
The Federal Ministry of Finance points out that Cologne Cathedral can "almost never be seen without scaffolding" because repairs have to be carried out constantly.
When asked, the spokesperson also indicates which prompt was entered for the postage stamp: "Create a colorful pixel artwork of the famous cologne cathedral. The sky should feature dramatic clouds in vibrant colors, highlighting the dreamy atmosphere of the artwork. The cathedral should be situated on a big square with groups of people taking in the sight. The square should be surrounded by smaller buildings, emphasizing the scale of the cathedral in comparison."
Further crypto stamps planned
The ministry is also announcing further crypto stamps for 2025. The hype surrounding NFTs – non-fungible tokens – has actually died out. There is an entry in the blockchain ledger for NFTs that is not intended to be exchangeable. This is to ensure authenticity with the help of the blockchain.
(mack)
