These subreddits can identify anything for you
As AI "slop" takes up valuable online real estate, identification subreddits remind us of the value of a more human knowledge ecosystem.
The next time you come across a creepy bug in your apartment or an old tool someone left in your office, don’t turn to ChatGPT. Instead, head to a subreddit — like r/whatisthis or r/whatisthisthing.
“r/whatisthisthing [is] a place to find out what that odd-looking thing you stumbled across actually is,” the subreddit’s wiki states. Found objects run the gamut from gizmos to furniture.
Other subreddits cater to more specific objects, including plants, fish, bugs (beware: not for the faint of heart), rocks, birds, and snakes. Even more niche communities (of various activity levels and ranging from tens to hundreds of members) also exist dedicated to identifying crystals, beans, phone models, and fruits.
Identification subreddits aren’t new. With nearly 3 million members, for example, r/whatisthisthing has been featured in listicles, YouTube videos, and even Jimmy Kimmel Live! segments (this website is a good compilation of W.I.T.T. media). But as Google and Quora become filled with AI-generated outputs, these subreddits highlight the continuing value of knowledge ecosystems written and maintained by humans.
I clicked around a little to see how some of these subreddits have responded to the rise of new AI tools.
r/whatisthisthing allows AI-assisted identification, but encourages users to “please investigate its answers and provide your own proof of its claims,” Directly copied and pasted AI-generated answers can result in a user ban.
“In our experience AI answers are almost never correct and are never justified with any kind of source,” a moderator wrote in one comment.
Another subreddit, r/whatisthiscar, bans pictures “made with AI or digitally edited.” Of course, users can’t always tell if objects they want identified are real or AI-generated.
For example, in one post on r/whatisthisfish, a user asked about a picture of a “Blue Hairy Frogfish,” sent from their grandmother and presumably originally from a Facebook group (“David Attenborough Fans”). Replies confirmed that this was an AI-generated image, not a real fish.
I also found several instances of AI-generated images submitted to plant and animal identification subreddits, as well as instances where Google’s AI overview or other tools gave incomplete or incorrect results.
Still, the convenience of uploading an image to ChatGPT or another AI tool can be hard to resist. “Google Lens has taken away a lot of the magic of this sub,” one user wrote about a month ago.
But I’d argue the real value of these subreddits lies in the communities they’ve built. They give users the chance to engage with both novices and experts, building up knowledge ecosystems through wikis with lists of related subreddits, identification guides, and helpful pointers for people who want to sharpen their eye.
On r/whatisthisyarn, users post images of yarn they lost the labels for or otherwise need identified. Asking other crafters rather than a large language model or even a classic reverse image search solicits firsthand expertise on qualities like softness, weight, and occasional tips and tricks.
r/whatisthiscookiecutter was covered by the New York Times in December 2023 and has since grown to more than 440,000 members. Users post pictures of bizarre or unknown cookie cutter shapes for identifications that are both serious and more creative. The community has evolved beyond just identification to encompass a broader love of baking, such as through “cookie cutter art” (illustrations imposed within the cookie cutters) and guidance on 3D printing your own shapes.
As AI tools become more advanced and ingrained into our technology, people will likely be even more inclined to use them. But if you’re seeking a robust knowledge community and a little internet magic, ask a subreddit.