TimeBinder

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Real or AI?Can you spot the AI building photo?

TimeBinder adds a layer of protection against AI and human fraud and disputes. Six side-by-side building exteriors. One of each pair is AI.

Your score is worked out in your browser. Real photos are public-domain or CC0. The AI images were made for this quiz and show no real person.

Pick the AI photo in each pair

Tap the photo you think is AI-generated. You will see the answer and a tip straight away.

Takes about 2 minutes. Your score is worked out in your browser and is not tied to your name.

Six rounds. Two wildlife photos each. One is AI.

Each round shows two photographs of the same kind of wild animal, the sort you might see in a sighting post or a nature feed. One is a real photograph. The other was generated by AI. Pick the one you think is AI, then see what gave it away.

  • Real photos are public-domain or CC0 pictures from Wikimedia Commons.
  • The AI images were made for this quiz. No real person appears in any of them.
  • Sides are shuffled every time you play.

Can you tell AI building photos by looking? The short answer

Often not, and this autumn the question has reached formal planning guidance, not only design-tool marketing. On 29 September 2026, the UK Planning Inspectorate updated GOV.UK guidance on the use of artificial intelligence in casework evidence. It requires declaring AI used to generate or alter images; an example agent declaration includes “generate an image of the proposed development”; improper use may be treated as unreasonable behaviour and open to costs. On 28 October 2026, ANDS Architecture wrote about AI house designs and planning permission. Autocomplete on 12 November 2026 still offered “ai architecture rendering”, “ai building rendering”, “ai render house exterior” and “midjourney architecture render”. Individual X posts we read about AI architectural rendering were modest, which we disclose: @julest10003 on 27 October had 390 impressions; @grok on 30 October had 347 impressions; @peerpush_com on 13 October had 89 impressions and 1 like; @sichy on 8 November had 46 impressions.

Spotting by eye is unreliable. TimeBinder is not a tool for identifying generated media. A TimeBind shows only that an exact file existed no later than a recorded time and that a copy you hold still matches it. This quiz cannot check a planning image or a listing photograph. For interior rooms, see the Real or AI? interiors quiz.

Five clues in building-exterior photos, and why none is proof

These are the habits that showed up in the quiz. They are worth knowing, but each one fails often enough that you should never settle a planning, listing or “is this a render?” dispute on them alone.

  1. A centred postcard view. A mountain hut in the middle of a grassy slope, or a compact cabin between two pine trunks. Real architectural photographs are often composed that way too.
  2. A perfect reflection or dusk silhouette. A wall-lit boathouse on still water, or a two-tower church on an empty twilight plaza. Real night and civic photographs can look just as arranged.
  3. A dramatic up-shot. Looking straight up a canyon of glass under a stormy sky. Real commercial photography uses the same angle.
  4. A picturesque ruin. Two empty gables and a chimney beside a stony path. Real upland ruins are often photographed for that shape.
  5. Missing mess. No cluttered deck, no awkward crop, no uneven hillside, no extra structure at the edge of the frame. Generated exteriors often reset the site. Real listings and travel photographs are often tidied as well.

All five get weaker once an image is cropped, filtered, compressed and re-shared. If a photograph or a render of a building matters later, the stronger record is the original file and when it existed, not a guess from the way it looks. Where planning rules apply, the declaration required by the relevant authority is the place to record that AI was used, not a quiz.

If a building photo or a render matters, keep a record of the original

When a picture of a building is questioned, or a render is later treated as a photograph, an argument about how it looks goes nowhere. A better question is whether you can show the exact original file and when it existed.

  1. Keep the original file untouched. Do not edit or re-save it. Work on copies.
  2. Make a TimeBind when you take or finish it. Your browser makes the SHA-256 fingerprint, and the file stays on your device. TimeBinder records the fingerprint with a time on the Bitcoin blockchain.
  3. Keep the file and the Proof of Time Certificate together.
  4. Check later with the file comparison checker. A copy that still matches is the same file. One that does not match is a different file.
Make a TimeBind: first one free →

First Pooled TimeBind free, no card, then from US$5. An ASAP TimeBind is US$15.

What a TimeBind shows, and what it does not. It shows that an exact file existed no later than a recorded time and that a copy shown later still matches its fingerprint. It does not show who made the file, who owns it, that its contents are true, or whether AI was used to make or edit it. This is general information, not legal advice.

Image credits and licences

Every real photo is public domain or CC0, which permits modification and reuse. Each AI image was generated by TimeBinder for this quiz from a text description of a similar building exterior, not as a copy of the real photograph. Photos were cropped to a 4:3 frame. No real person is shown. The quiz is about exteriors, not interior rooms.

The real photographs used in the Real or AI? architecture quiz
SubjectReal photo sourceLicencePhotographer / uploader
A wooden cabin on a mountain slopeWikimedia CommonsCC0Felicia Birloi
A boathouse at the end of a pier at nightWikimedia CommonsCC0Aurélien Bellanger
A stone cottage beside a country pathWikimedia CommonsCC0Asa Rodger
Modern glass office buildings under a stormy skyWikimedia CommonsCC0Mike Wilson
A modern white church with two towersWikimedia CommonsCC0William Bout
A wood-shingle house among pine trees at sunsetWikimedia CommonsCC0Bruno Marinho

If you would rather practice on city skylines than on close building exteriors, the free Real or AI? skylines quiz is six rounds of real and generated city photographs. It cannot tell you whether a file you hold is AI-made.

If you would rather try old photographs than modern buildings, the free Real old photo or AI? quiz is four rounds of real and generated black-and-white pictures. It cannot tell you whether a file you hold is AI-made.

If you would rather try signs or railway photographs than buildings, the free Real sign photo or AI? quiz and Real train photo or AI? quiz are six rounds each. Neither can tell you whether a file you hold is AI-made.

If you would rather try ruins, the free Abandoned places: real or AI? quiz is six rounds of derelict houses, factories and overgrown buildings (photos only: do not enter derelict buildings). It cannot tell you whether a file you hold is AI-made.

For more buildings, try the free Treehouses: real or AI? quiz or the Earth and turf houses: real or AI? quiz. Neither can tell you whether a file you hold is AI-made.

If you would rather try tiny buildings, the free Miniatures and scale models: real or AI? quiz is five rounds of real model photographs against AI images. It cannot tell you whether a file you hold is AI-made.

Real or AI? architecture quiz: FAQ

How does the Real or AI? architecture quiz work?

You get six rounds. Each shows two photographs of the same kind of building exterior, such as a mountain cabin, a boathouse on a pier, or a modern glass office block. One is a real photograph and one was generated by AI. Tap the one you think is AI, see which was which, read what gave it away, and get a score you can share. This quiz is about exteriors, not interior rooms.

Where do the real photos come from?

They are public-domain or CC0 photographs from Wikimedia Commons, listed with the photographer and licence in the image credits table on this page. The AI images were generated by TimeBinder for this quiz from text descriptions of similar building exteriors, not as copies of the real photographs. No real person appears in any image.

Why architecture exteriors, and why now?

On 29 September 2026, the UK Planning Inspectorate updated GOV.UK guidance on “Use of artificial intelligence in casework evidence”. It requires declaring AI used to generate or alter images; an example agent declaration includes “generate an image of the proposed development”; improper use may be treated as unreasonable behaviour and open to costs. On 28 October 2026, ANDS Architecture wrote about AI house designs and planning permission. Autocomplete on 12 November 2026 still offered phrases such as “ai architecture rendering”, “ai building rendering”, “ai render house exterior” and “midjourney architecture render”. Individual posts we read on X about AI architectural rendering were modest, which we disclose with the links on this page. This quiz is a visual practice test. It cannot tell you whether a planning image or a listing photograph is AI-made. For interior rooms, see the separate Real or AI? interiors quiz.

Can people tell AI building photos by looking?

Often not. A wooden cabin on a hillside can be a real photograph, and a tidy shingle house in sunset pines can be generated. Clues such as a centred postcard hut, a perfect night reflection or a wide unused plaza help on a still image, but they are hints, not proof, and they fade once a photo is cropped, filtered or re-shared.

Does TimeBinder tell me whether a building photo is AI-made?

No. TimeBinder is not a tool for identifying generated media, and it cannot tell you whether AI made a file. A TimeBind shows that an exact file existed no later than a recorded time and that a copy you hold still matches it. That is useful when you can say “here is this file, recorded by this time,” not when you need to know how the picture was made.

Do you store my score or answers?

Your score is worked out in your browser. This page sends a few anonymous events to our analytics, such as the quiz being finished with a score band, never your name or email.

How can I show a building photograph is the file I kept?

Keep the original file unedited, and make a TimeBind of it when you take or finish it. Later, a copy that still matches the fingerprint is the same file, and the record shows it existed no later than the recorded time. It does not show who took the photo, that the building exists, or that a planning image was approved. Read how to prove a photo is not AI for the honest limits.

Related guides and tools

Date the original building photo before it gets copied

Add a layer of protection against AI and human fraud and disputes: a dated, checkable record of the exact file you hold.

  1. Open the app and sign in with email or Google.
  2. Add your files. They stay on your computer.
  3. Seal them and download your Proof of Time certificates.
Open TimeBinder →

First Pooled TimeBind free, no card, then from US$5. See pricing.