Alan Warburton / Better Images of AI / Quantified Human / CC-BY 4.0

The image above is taken from a new repository and web site called Better Images of AI

The predominance of sci-fi inspired and anthropomorphised images, and the lack of readily accessible alternative images or ideas, make it hard to communicate accurately about AI.

This matters because without wider public comprehension of AI technologies, applications and governance, many people are left in the dark as to the important changes that impact their lives.

These AI images also add to the public mistrust of AI, a growing problem for innovation in a field that is sometimes seen as biased, opaque and extractive.

Finally, we think that images like these don't encourage the necessary diversity of people to enter the AI workforce and address the AI talent gap.

The site has been set up by a consortium including the Ada Lovelace Institute, the Alan Turing Institute and Feminist Internet with support from BBC Research and Development among others.

"We need images that more realistically portray the technology and the people behind it and point towards its strengths, weaknesses, context and applications," they say.