Bengaluru founder admits to posting AI-enhanced pics of new Indiranagar office

A Bengaluru-based founder has come under fire for sharing AI-enhanced pictures of his new office in the city. Ayush Agarwal, founder of Dodo Payments, took to X on August 3 to announce that his team had moved to a new office in Indiranagar — a posh, commercial neighbourhood of Bengaluru.Ayush Agarwal shared a picture of his company’s new office in Bengaluru. (X/@ayushagarwal)Agarwal explained that the new office is three times bigger than their old one as he shared pictures of the space. His photos show a new office done up in earthy tones like green and brown.Post raises eyebrowsHowever, social media users were quick to notice that something did not sit right in the pictures. Besides looking a little too perfect, they noticed odd discrepancies like shadows not aligning or certain objects looking a bit strange.It did not take them long to conclude that the founder of Dodo Payments had shared AI-generated images of his new office.Take a look at the post below:Sharing the pictures on X, Ayush Agarwal explained that the company had switched from an office that seated 9 employees to one that seated 30 employees just one year ago. However, the employee base grew quickly — forcing the company to split the team between two offices.Now, the Dodo Payments team has finally come back together to sit out of the same office space, Agarwal explained.The AI imagesSeveral X users quickly realised that artificial intelligence had been used to generate or enhance the images. Agarwal’s post quickly went viral and has been viewed a whopping 10 million times.“Why would some post AI generated images of their office?” asked one person.Many zoomed in on pens kept at a table which looked obviously fake, presenting them as evidence of the use of AI.At least one person pointed out that a table in the first picture appeared to have sprouted an extra leg.Founder defends use of AIThe many comments led to Agarwal’s post getting a community note. “As Ayush later admitted, the office photos were AI-generated or altered, yet the post wasn’t labeled using X’s available AI disclosure option. While not illegal, this misrepresents the company’s reality and warrants a Community Note,” the note read.Agarwal did indeed admit to using AI, saying that he only used it to enhance the raw images. He defended the use of AI in his response.“Seeing so many generated with AI comments – I did use AI to just sharpen / enhance the raw image but it seems like crab mentality never fades away,” wrote the founder of Dodo Payments.