The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a lot of changes in our daily lives, one of which is the increased use of medical facemasks. While these masks are essential for protecting ourselves and others from the virus, their widespread use has led to a new problem: used facemasks littering our streets and public spaces.

In cities all over the world, used facemasks can be found lying on sidewalks, in parks, and even on the streets.

They have become a common sight, and their presence is not only unsightly but also poses a potential health hazard.

These used masks can contain live virus, and if not disposed of properly, they can potentially infect others.

The problem of facemask litter is not limited to just urban areas. They are also found in rural areas and even in nature preserves, where they can harm wildlife and damage the ecosystem.

One of the main reasons for the abundance of used masks in public spaces is the lack of proper disposal options.

Many people simply throw their used masks on the ground after using them, rather than properly disposing of them in a trash can.

Additionally, some people may not know how to properly dispose of their masks, leading them to discard them in public spaces.

To combat the problem of facemask litter, several solutions have been proposed. One solution is to increase public awareness about proper mask disposal.

This can be done through education campaigns that inform people about how to properly dispose of their used masks, and the potential hazards of not doing so.

Another solution is to increase the availability of facemask disposal options. This can be done by placing more trash cans in public spaces, and making sure they have designated sections for used masks.

Additionally, some cities have started installing special facemask disposal bins in public spaces, which are designed specifically for the disposal of used masks.

It's also important to note that, people should also consider using reusable masks, and washing them after each use, this way they can reduce the amount of waste generated.

In conclusion, the increased use of medical facemasks during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a new problem: the littering of used masks in public spaces. While these masks are essential for protecting ourselves and others from the virus, it's important to properly dispose of them to avoid any potential health hazards.By increasing public awareness about proper mask disposal and increasing the availability of disposal options, we can help to reduce the problem of facemask litter.

And now here’s the surprise: All of the above text except the slanted intro and the following was written by the ChatGPT AI from OpenAI as an answer to this prompt i wrote: “Write an article about used medical facemasks lying all over the place everywhere in the city.”.

The idea came to my mind, because i started to shoot those masks i saw everywhere, but i didn’t know what exactly to write about that topic other than a lot of wild insults addressed to the people who threw away these masks so in a way one could say i let AI help me prevent an insulting rant article. There were a lot more masks i’ve seen on my walks and in this article i only present the rather harmless pieces. The really disgusting, partly blood-stained ones, I have saved myself from photographing and even looking at for too long. I really like the text output i got from the AI though and it’s surely a lot better than insults, right?!

What I definitely didn't leave to an AI is the editing and especially the color correction of the photos which I deliberately shifted quite a bit into the red within a general more dark movie style look. Overall, I had the colors and the look of the movie 300 in mind, or at least my memory of it. As for the monochrome versions of the photos i gave them an extra hit of darkness compared to their colored twins to underline the seriousness of the topic. Now i’m curious about how you like the look and feel of the photos?!

What do you think about ChatGPT’s output about the topic and of course the topic itself?