AI image generators: tools and risks
By Mark Hurst • September 8, 2022
AI image generators are on the loose. As the latest escapee from Pandora’s box, they’ll be with us permanently, so they’re worth paying attention to.
Although there will also be negative consequences of these algorithms – maybe shockingly negative – they also have the capacity to be fun. Here’s a recent example: The @images_ai account on Twitter posted some before-and-after shots, as famous paintings were run through the AI meat grinder.
These images are suggesting that of course the AI can’t replace actual classic art, but it can at least create an amusing bit of eye candy to swipe through. (See the original thread for yourself.)
The problem comes when AI image generators go further and actually are used to replace artists. Perhaps you heard last week about the Colorado state fair, in a digital-arts competition, awarding first prize to an AI-generated image (Washington Post, Sep 2, 2022) shown below:
The man associated with the artwork, Jason Allen, said he worked hard to come up with just the right “prompt” – a text phrase much like what one would type into a search engine – that produced the image. Allen made some minor edits to the image afterward, and then it was ready to print.
Many articles have been written on the incident, considering the state of contemporary art, what this means for artists, “is it art if an algorithm created it,” and so on. . .
. . . so begins today’s column, 🔒 AI generators: tools and risks. The whole column is for Creative Good members only, so I’m inviting you to click here to join Creative Good to get access to this and all other posts. A hundred bucks a year will help me keep going with this newsletter, the Forum, and Good Reports.
The full column also includes:
• The risks that AI image generators pose to artists and civil society
• A list of (and pointers to) the three main AI image generators
• Four additional generators you should know about
• Three context-specific AI image generators
• And one video deepfake generator that has already been used on a popular TV show, helping normalize the technology to the public.
That’s eleven AI image-and-video generators you’ll learn about in one column. Only for Creative Good members.
Please join Creative Good today to get access to this and hundreds of other resources on the Creative Good Forum – and help support my work on this newsletter. Thanks.
Until next time,
-mark
Mark Hurst, founder, Creative Good – see official announcement and join as a member
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