The work of editorial cartoonists and their ability to capture the essence of an idea in a picture or two must be quite the talent to have and job to hold. That phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words,” certainly can ring true.
A recent experience verifying an issue in Microsoft’s Copilot app I was told had been fixed, led to that all-too-common situation in accessibility of taking one step forward and a couple in reverse. My issue was fixed but I discovered new accessibility issues to report.
What began as a routine task—verifying an accessibility fix in Microsoft’s Copilot—quickly devolved into a familiar frustration as new issues emerged. It was in that moment that the app presented me with a default prompt to “Create an image of…”. My frustration, my curiosity about AI, and my interest in editorial cartoons suddenly converged, sparking an unintentional experiment with a fundamental question at its core: could an AI capture my feelings in a picture, and then accurately describe what it had just made?
I gave Copilot this prompt:
“Create an image of the Microsoft logo with a man’s face crying in sadness imposed over it and a cartoon bubble saying, “I just want to be included please,” and here is where things turned interesting.
I used Copilot, Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude (the last two through JAWS Picture Smart functionality) to get descriptions of the resulting image. I expected some variability but take note in particular of the Copilot description. It leaves out critical details and gives a vastly different version of the very image created through Copilot. I have no illusion that Copilot would have the ability to know that it created the image but really do wonder why the details are so different with Copilot? Did this trigger some content flags internal to Copilot for example?
It is also interesting to note how Gemini’s interpretation of the image is not entirely my intent. Gemini seems to interpret that Microsoft is the entity being left out here and in fact it was my intent to express the opposite, that the person crying was the person being left out.
This experiment raises obvious questions about the capabilities and challenges of today’s AI technology. But for me, it highlights a much deeper, more personal challenge.
As someone who understands the visual world entirely through words—from alternative text, human-provided descriptions and as of late AI-based image description—this leads to a fundamental question: can my words ever be enough to accurately portray a feeling or an idea for an AI to translate into a picture I cannot see but trust represents my intent? If it does, will I have the ability to know this with confidence? Had I spent the time to write those thousand words in the prompt, would the result have been any closer to the image in my mind’s eye?
The image generated by Copilot can be found at http://theideaplace.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/CopilotMSFTLogoCryingAndCartoonBalloon.png.
The responses from the various AI descriptions are below.
ChatGPT
The image is a meme featuring the “Crying Jordan” face superimposed over the Microsoft logo. The face has a speech bubble coming from it, saying, “I just want to be included please.” The background shows the Microsoft logo, which includes its four colored squares and the word “Microsoft” in a large font.
The meme seems to humorously convey the idea of being left out or wanting inclusion.
Claude
This image is a popular internet meme that combines the Microsoft logo (including its distinctive four-colored window-pane design in orange and green)
with a crying face. The person in the image appears emotional with tears on their face, and there’s a speech bubble saying “I just want to be included please.” The image is meant to be humorous, playing on the idea of feeling left out, with “Microsoft” written in the company’s characteristic gray font at the bottom of the image. The background is plain white, making the elements of the meme stand out clearly.
Copilot
The image features the Microsoft logo, consisting of four colored squares—red, green, blue, and yellow—arranged in a 2×2 grid. Beneath the logo, the word “Microsoft” is displayed in a bold, gray font. On the right side of the image, there’s a speech bubble containing the text: “I just want to be included please.” The placement of the speech bubble suggests a plea for inclusion or recognition, adding an element of sentiment to the otherwise corporate design. Is there something specific you’re curious about regarding this image?
Gemini
This is a popular internet meme that combines several elements to create a humorous and satirical image. At the center of the image is the disembodied head of a person who appears to be a Black man, crying. His face is contorted in sadness, with visible tears welling in his eyes and streaming down his cheeks. This specific image is widely recognized as the “Crying Jordan” meme, which features a photograph of basketball legend Michael Jordan during his 2009 Basketball Hall of Fame induction speech. In the background, positioned behind the head, is the Microsoft logo, composed of four squares: orange-red in the top left and green in the top right. Below the head, the word “Microsoft” is intentionally misspelled as “Micrososft.” To the right of the head is a cartoon speech bubble with the text, “I just want to be included please.” The overall composition suggests that the corporation Microsoft is being personified as the “Crying Jordan” figure, expressing feelings of sadness, failure, and exclusion, as articulated by the text in the speech bubble. The meme is typically used to mock a perceived failure or a lack of popularity of a Microsoft product or service in comparison to its competitors.
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