Top Generative AI and AI Art News from 2022
The world of art has been rocked by advancements in artificial intelligence. The advancement has manifested so quickly, that as the year comes to a close, the art community is worried. Many feel that thanks to AI’s ability to learn from human artists and mimic their style, soon the need for artists will shrink even more. Not only that, but public use of AI-powered tools such as DALL-E has brought this technology to the forefront of public conversation. It’s been an interesting year for generative AI.
So, here are our top stories in generative AI involving art, creativity, and generative AI news.
New AI-Powered App Lensa is Causing a Stir Within the Art Community
Let’s begin with Lensa, an app powered by AI that is taking the internet by storm. If you’re a user of just about any social media platform, it’s likely that you’ve seen someone use Lensa to create a variety of AI-generated photos. The way the app works is that users upload their own images and the program morphs the photos into stylized art. Even though this sounds harmless, many within the art world aren’t too pleased.
That’s because the program and others like it utilize training data from existing photos and pieces of art. In essence, taking images created by humans enhances its own ability. For many within the art community, it feels like plagiarism. On Twitter, the debate is raging on Lensa, and other programs, benefit or harm to art in general. Either way, AI is likely here to stay. The question is, how it will affect the art community in the long term?
Microsoft Introduces Designer Which Allows You to Use Text-to-Image Tech in-App
Even though Meta and Google, among others, are pushing out text-to-image AI programs, Microsoft wasn’t going to be left behind. But instead of just releasing their own kind of text-to-image image generator, Microsoft is looking to make their program accessible and easy to use for the general public. Which, unlike Google and Meta, would be a first.
Called Microsft Designer, it is powered by DALL-E 2 and will be integrated into the overall Microsft services family, allowing users to generate images on their browser Edge. In short, the purpose would be a one-stop shop where users can build up decks, cards, and social media posts in one area using the family of Microsoft tools, including Designer.
AI Used to Create a Fake Podcast with Joe Rogan and Steve Jobs
Back in October, deep fake technology achieved another milestone. This time, a fake episode of the popular podcast, Joe Rogan Experience, went live with co-founder and former CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs. One could listen to the podcast and it’s difficult to tell that it’s a deepfake at first listen.
The interview goes for about 19 mins, and during that time you can almost forget that Jobs had passed away over ten years ago. Deepfake technology has been a concern for policymakers and law enforcement due to its potential to create fake evidence against individuals.
Meta Introduces New Text-to-Video AI Generator, Make-A-Video
Throughout 2022, Google, DALL-E, ROBOMOJO, DeepDream, and others have stolen headlines with magnificent photos made using text data. Meta wasn’t going to be left in the dust, and during the early Fall it introduced its own generator, but unlike the others, it would be a text-to-video program called Make-A-Video.
Similar to its text-to-photo cousins, Make-A-Video uses text data to create short videos. Following Meta’s Responsible AI Framework, Make-A-Video can also create text-to-photo. Right now, the Meta team has much to release, but it’s clear that there is a lot of research and development behind the program, which can potentially provide creators with a new avenue to create original content.
James Earl Jones Retires Iconic Darth Vader Voice With the Help of AI
Disney has been a pioneer in using AI-powered tools in its films over the last few years. From de-aging actors with ML tools to creating an original scene with actors who’ve died decades prior, it’s no surprise that Disney is going all in with AI. So it was no surprise that the company would be at the forefront of AI-generated voice tracks. In this case, it would be the iconic voice of James Earl Jones that brought to life one of the greatest villains in cinema history, Darth Vader.
The legendary actor announced that he officially retired the voice of the sith lord, but gave Disney permission to use existing voice data files to keep the character alive. So Disney partnered with the Ukrainian tech company, Respeecher, to use archival recordings of Jones to create new dialogue as needed for future Star Wars projects.
Popular Sites are Already Getting Tired of AI-Generated Art
As mentioned earlier, the art community has a growing uneasy relationship with AI-powered art-generating tools such as MidJourney and DALL-E 2. It’s become such an issue this year that popular sites dedicated to art, such as Newgrounds and Inkblot, have made moves to either outright ban generative AI art or curb their use.
It’s clear that AI is causing a stir within the art community and many within it are not sure how to handle these tools. Other websites such as ArtStation and others have yet to weigh in on the matter, but it’s likely that as we enter 2023, the disruptions from AI-powered art-generating tools will cause more pushback from the art community.
Everyone, Meet Loab — The Internet’s First Terrifying AI Cryptid
The internet has been filled with mysteries for as long as it has been used and more so as usage has exploded over the past thirty years. So it’s no surprise that the first AI cryptid came to light back in September. In a lengthy Twitter thread, an AI art creator discussed how they stumbled on a recurring and creepy image of a female humanoid that is now dubbed Loab.
Through the thread, they explained how the image came to be and how it continued to regenerate over and over again, leaving them wondering how it was possible and others calling it the first AI cryptid.
AI-Generated Art Wins Contest and Stirs Controversy Online
Now to an event that is elevating the worry of the art community, where an AI-generated piece of art took the prize at the Colorado state fair earlier this year. Using MidJourney, video game designer and artist Jason Allen created the piece and even mentioned that he expected some pushback from the win. What makes this story more interesting, is the category it won was digital arts/digitally manipulated photography, so it could be seen as well within the bounds of the category. The art piece competed against 18 other entries for a $300 prize.
DALL-E Has Taken the Most Terrifying Selfies Ever
Finally, let’s talk about DALL-E and the selfies that took left the internet in awe. Back in late July, Open AI’s DALL-E was given a simple text description — the last selfie that was taken by a human on Earth. What was produced was quite haunting, to say the least as the theme created by the series of images all connected in a morbid display of humanity on its last legs.
As the photos go on, they didn’t just depict Earth as just dead, or on fire, but a series of odd and disastrous events that seemed to have made the landscape unrecognizable as the humanoids taking the photos. The photos became a hit on TikTok where Robotoverlords made an eighteen-second video that showed each selfie.
Wrapping up
There you have it, the top generative AI and AI art stories of 2022. What do you think? Are the fears of the art community valid? What do you think of all of these text-to-image generators and other programs that take text data and turn them into images and videos? Finally, now that AI seems to have entered the mainstream, how do you think it will affect the popular imagination and interest in artificial intelligence?
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Originally posted on OpenDataScience.com
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