---
title: "The New Stable Diffusion Is Producing Horrific Mangled Human Bodies"
description: "Stable Diffusion 3 is here — and if you want to generate an image of a person, maybe expect an output resembling human appendage soup."
date: "2024-06-13"
modified: "2024-06-13"
authors:
  - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré"
    job_title: "Senior Staff Writer"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/new-stable-diffusion-is-mangled"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
tags:
  - "ai"
  - "ai training"
  - "image generator"
  - "the digest"
---

# The New Stable Diffusion Is Producing Horrific Mangled Human Bodies

![Stable Diffusion 3 is here — and if you want to generate an image of a person, maybe expect an output resembling human appendage soup.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/new-stable-diffusion-is-mangled.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/StableDiffusion/comments/1de7lbg/comment/l8a50uf/" target="\_blank"\>u/-f1-f2-f3-f4- via Reddit (AI Generated) / Futurism\</a\>\</em\>*

## Medium Rare

After a chaotic few months, [embattled AI startup](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/stability-ai-collapsing-considering-sale>) Stability AI released the latest version of its text-to-image AI model, Stable Diffusion 3 Medium. According [to Stability](<https://stability.ai/news/stable-diffusion-3-medium>), the new AI is its "most sophisticated image-generating model to date." So why is it consistently generating freakish body horror monstrosities?

As[ *Ars Technica* reports](<https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/06/ridiculed-stable-diffusion-3-release-excels-at-ai-generated-body-horror/>), disappointed Stable Diffusion users have taken to Reddit to complain that the new model often refuses to generate a picture of a human that isn't a horrifyingly mangled, AI-generated mess of incoherent limbs.

"I haven't been able to generate a single decent image at all outside of the example prompts," one irritated Redditor [wrote](<https://www.reddit.com/r/StableDiffusion/comments/1de7lbg/is_this_release_supposed_to_be_a_joke_sd32b/>) in a thread on the r/StableDiffusion subreddit. "I've tried highly descriptive prompts with no luck. Even an absolutely basic one like 'photograph of a person napping in a living room' leads to Cronenberg-esque monstrosities."

It would "be funny if not so depressing :(" added another frustrated user.

A few users in the thread reported that they were able to generate normal-looking humans, but those folks seem to be in a small minority. Want an AI-spun picture of a person? If you're using Stable Diffusion 3, watch out for appendage soup.

https://twitter.com/minimaxir/status/1800921802765717754

## Cronenberg-22

Based on evidence shared by Redditors, Cronenberg-esque is an [accurate](<https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fis-this-release-supposed-to-be-a-joke-sd3-2b-v0-v0vkaft0g56d1.png%3Fwidth%3D1024%26format%3Dpng%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3Df00f89dc149c6496142db20f3e22dadec325688b>) descriptor for the images.

A simple prompt for "woman laying on a beach," for example, allegedly resulted in [whatever this mess](<https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fis-this-release-supposed-to-be-a-joke-sd3-2b-v0-ew6n2r0x866d1.png%3Fwidth%3D1344%26format%3Dpng%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D3f2fe34acd36380fc61bfa3ae5e3fc498543d5f1>) of face-on-arm-on-hair-on-possible-tree-stump is, while a number of users shared botched images of women with extremely [messed up hands](<https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fis-this-release-supposed-to-be-a-joke-sd3-2b-v0-tocbfnler56d1.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D1024%26format%3Dpjpg%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D021026610e8d814e4a6e029f157d7597edd86bc5>). Elsewhere, [in another thread](<https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fwhy-is-sd3-so-bad-at-generating-girls-lying-on-the-grass-v0-60z14wf4k56d1.png%3Fwidth%3D1024%26format%3Dpng%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3Dd6734523f14cc6095ee4d8fa8769da65e0c06ffd>), users trying to generate photos of women lying in the grass were repeatedly returned nightmare-fuel renderings of [Thumb Thumb-like](<https://spykids.fandom.com/wiki/Thumb_Thumbs>) creatures.

Importantly, the AI mostly appears to struggle with humanoid figures. As Redditors reported in the various threads, other prompts turn out perfectly fine outputs — an outcome that's likely the result of Stability's decision to train the model on a dataset that filters out NSFW imagery.

The question of training on NSFW imagery presents a bit of a catch-22 for AI companies like Stability. Porn makes up vast swaths of the internet, and as *Ars* notes, researchers have found that *not* training models on NSFW material vastly reduces their ability to reliably and accurately generate human forms. At the same time, however, training on [web-scraped](<https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/51365/1/pornhub-says-it-is-cracking-down-on-non-consensual-content>) NSFW material presents a slew of deeply serious [safety and ethics](<https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/21/as-ai-porn-generators-get-better-the-stakes-raise/>) concerns.

In the spirit of safety — and, perhaps, not getting sued — Stability chose to exclude explicit content from its training process. But its users, a large chunk of whom definitely wanted to generate images of women, are clearly frustrated with the final product.

"I guess now they can go bankrupt," quipped one Redditor, "in a safe and ethically \[sic\] way."

**More on AI training:** [*AI Companies Running out of Training Data after Burning Through Entire Internet*](<https://futurism.com/ai-trained-images-kids>)

## Author
At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride."

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/mharrisondupre.bsky.social>)