The Daily Populous Wednesday December 17th, 2025 night edition
Image from preview.redd.it and submitted by Everdale

Doge_dabountyhunter on December 16th, 2025 at 19:26 UTC »

Upload a photo that isn’t through the roof colorful contrast and without the depth of field simulator. Im assuming it’s iPhone portrait mode because it doesn’t look like legitimate bokeh to me.

mizushimo on December 16th, 2025 at 20:01 UTC »

This photo uncannily looks like AI even though OP swears it's real and was taken with expensive equipment, I don't know what to say.

justgetoffmylawn on December 16th, 2025 at 20:21 UTC »

This is one of the problems with AI - not just what it will do, but that it makes everyone see AI around every corner. I understand why people might think that, but I'd be surprised if this image is AI.

The grain is perfect digital noise - it's clearly shot high ISO on a pretty modern digital camera (high ISO has gotten a specific look over the past decade). I've never seen any AI models that can do that perfect a grain pattern at that resolution. In addition, the catchlights are perfect - although do you have some weird fluoresccent mood lighting in your living room? :)

And the whiskers are perfect, and so forth. I probably have more photographic experience than the average cat, but the bigger problem is that suspicion turns everyone into a forensic expert, and we're all going to be wrong some of the time.

tl;dr I'd be pretty surprised if this were AI - high ISO, low f-stop, modern digital camera.