Nordea sparks debate over baby imagery in mortgage ad in Finland

A social media advertisement released by Nordea on Friday and featured on the front pages of several newspapers on Saturday has sparked discussions regarding the potential use of artificial intelligence in its imagery. The campaign, which promotes extra payment holidays for mortgages during parental leave, prominently features a baby with six toes on each foot. While the number of fingers is not as clearly depicted, it can be interpreted as four per hand.

Images generated by AI often face scrutiny over inaccuracies like the number of fingers and toes. However, Nordea clarified in responses on Facebook that this is not the case for their advertisement. “The image is genuine; the extra fingers and toes are known as polydactyly. Nordea values diversity, and our images can reflect individuals with different identities, backgrounds, and abilities,” the company stated.

Central Finland news outlet Keskisuomalainen reported on the story on Friday and confirmed with Nordea that the image in question comes from the Getty Images stock library and did not involve AI technology. According to Nordea, the image was chosen for its depiction of a calm, sleeping baby that aligns with the advertisement’s message.

Getty Images features multiple photos of the same baby, all showing six toes. The photographs by Crystal Bolin were uploaded to the platform in early 2022, a time before AI applications became widespread.