Generative AIs for images

[velociraptor]

Is anyone playing with these yet?

This was created using Midjourney. I'm amazed at how the quality of the AI output is accelerating.

 

[Atrapa Almas]

Yes, we was talking about it about one month ago. @Misery is an expert on that.

 

[Forest Cat]

This reminds me of poker. I used to play poker but then more and more people started using poker software. So I was no longer playing against people, I was playing against machines. That took something away from it and made it worse, less interesting. So I stopped playing. Now machines make art, a person didn't paint that picture, a machine made it. And that takes something away from it, it makes it worse and less interesting. These darn machines... they make the world worse and less interesting.

 

[Mr. Stevens]

This reminds me of poker. I used to play poker but then more and more people started using poker software. So I was no longer playing against people, I was playing against machines. That took something away from it and made it worse, less interesting. Now machines make art, a person didn't paint that picture, a machine made it. And that takes something away from it, it makes it worse and less interesting. These darn machines... they make the world worse and less interesting.

Originally, you wrote "A person didn't pain [sic] that picture." A useful slip Not because all art comes from pain, but it involves feelings, and that is one thing missing with AI art. Though it can be exciting as a novelty, there is no mind to observe or understand. And--like with deep fakes--the potential is frightening.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

Only AI would see such a trite image as art. It must have been trained on the schlock garbage of Thomas Kinkade. SISO.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

This reminds me of poker. I used to play poker

Why play such a game online? Nothing beats face to face poker. I'd bet people using software actually have not learned much about playing the game.

 

[Forest Cat]

Why play such a game online? Nothing beats face to face poker. I'd bet people using software actually have not learned much about playing the game.

It was the simplest way, there are no casinos here at all. Not one. I learned the math and strategy and just thought it was interesting.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

I don't really like them, because the eyes and expression are always lifeless. The landscapes, flat and soulless. Even when you ask it to create a portrait depticting joy or love or sorrow, the eyes are always blank. It takes a human to understand and portray the human condition. That is what makes art. I would not call AI images artwork. They are plagaristic collages of the works of masters.

 

[Forest Cat]

I don't really like them, because the eyes and expression are always lifeless. Even when you ask it to create a portrait depticting joy or love or sorrow, the eyes are always blank. It takes a human to understand and portray the human condition. That is what makes art. I would not call AI images artwork. They are plagaristic collages of the works of masters.

There is a strange emptyness in art made by machines. Something is lacking.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

There is life and expression portrayed in even the most simplistic petroglyph.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

It was the simplest way, there are no casinos here at all. Not one. I learned the math and strategy and just thought it was interesting.

My family were poker players. Every family gathering always had the adults playing poker. Once in college I brought my roomate home for Easter. He thought he was good at poker, but my family cleaned him out. The news got out in my dorm to stay away from me (and my family) when poker was involved.

The only hand I regret losing was when I had a king high straight flush. A friend had an ace high straight flush. What are the odds of losing to that with seven players?

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

My family were poker players. Every family gathering always had the adults playing poker. Once in college I brought my roomate home for Easter. He thought he was good at poker, but my family cleaned him out. The news got out in my dorm to stay away from me (and my family) when poker was involved.

The only hand I regret losing was when I had a king high straight flush. A friend had an ace high straight flush. What are the odds of losing to that with seven players?

I taught my daughter to play poker, blackjack, etc when she was about five or six. As soon as she had a good grasp of patterns and basic math. Not for gambling, but just for family fun.

 

[Darkkin]

Top is Tack, a hyena pup from the Brass Pack.

Bottom is the Wild Dogs of Tenebrous Wold on the hunt.

 

[Misery]

Okay, so, the stuff about AI being what it is, whether it's art or not, has any heart or not.... there's a lot of stuff buried in there. I'd actually been meaning to see what you guys thought about some of these concepts for awhile now. Perfect time. This is out of my own pure curiosity, as I love hearing what you all think about stuff like this.


Let me show you guys a couple of things here. Just bear with me.

Firstly, two of my art creations, made long before I tried Midjourney or any of the others:

Okay, so, those are a couple of my fractals, which are *the* primary form of art that I make. There are many, MANY types of fractals, each weirder than the last. These 3D ones are called Mandelbulbs. They typically take hours to make (and sometimes, hours just to RENDER the final image). Like with any art form, the sky is the limit when it comes to the amount of skill you can have at making these... I aint particularly good, there's tons that I dont understand yet, but dagnabit I've got some I'm very proud of. These two, however, are the relevant ones right now.

Now, look at whatever this is:

So, what is that thing?

Basically, I took the previous two images... which were purely *my* creations, no AI involved (and were made like 2 years ago, I think it was), and I fed them into Midjourney. MJ has a "blend" function. It takes two images and sorta... squashes them together, spitting something out using just that. No prompt, no text, nothing describing what I want it to do with any of that. It's JUST blending, merging. Specifically doing so with two things *I* made.

So, I ask you: That image there... who made that? It is literally *entirely* built out of materials I created and fed into the merging function, and the AI was not given any instructions on anything of its own to add. It just smashed them together... nothing more. So what is it? Is it art, being literally made out of my art? Is it not? Is it my creation? Is it not?


Now, how about a second question.

I cant show this one here... I dont have permission for that. I'll describe:

Awhile ago, my grandfather passed away. We knew it was coming. HE knew it was coming. His funeral was actually planned out one week before he passed. It was a hard time for everyone, but particularly for my stepmother. I wanted to make her something special, something involving him, and her, together.

But, portrait making... like, REALISTIC portrait making... aint something I know how to do. At all. And I have no interest in learning to do that (I like making fictional characters instead, and the materials I use aint what professional portraits are usually made with anyway). Yet, I wanted something for her. And I had very little time to produce such a thing. With my father's help, we dredged up a special photo of the two of them together. My stepmother and grandfather, together, at the wedding for my father & stepmother. A very special photo from a very special day. This photo was... a bit blurry, a bit wonky. But I had an idea.

I took that photo and fed it into a different AI known as Deep Dream Generator. This was LONG before any of this AI art hype started. And this AI didnt do what MJ does. Basically what this one did, was that you'd give it an image to act as the "base", and then you'd give it a second image to act as the "style". It would try its best to recreate the first image, in the STYLE of the second one.

After hours of retries (with lots of parameter tweaking), I finally had it: That photo, that special photo, recreated as a PAINTING. It came out VERY well. It was then professionally printed onto canvas and presented as a special gift to my stepmother... she was very emotional about it. And yes, a full explanation of how it was created was given (and is given to anyone who sees it, too... because they cant tell a machine was involved just by looking at it). It now permanently has a prominent spot in this house (not my idea).


Now, tell me: That idea, what do you guys think about it? Is there meaning to that? Or is it just a stamp with no heart to it?


Last thing:

Why play such a game online? Nothing beats face to face poker. I'd bet people using software actually have not learned much about playing the game.

I guarantee you, people playing the game online know how to play it. Most probably know LOTS about it.

Usually, the reason why people would do this is the same reason why people play board games online (which is a huge thing too): because you just cant always get people together in person for that. Maybe you have a friend you want to play with... but they live on the other side of the country. Playing with a friend is always better than playing with strangers! Or, in other cases, maybe it's a big tournament, held online so anyone can join. There's a lot of reasons. It's up to the individual, of course.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

I guarantee you, people playing the game online know how to play it.

There is the mechanics of the game, the probabilities. But then there is the human element, the behaviors of those you are facing, their susceptibilities, their tells, that you can use against them.

 

[Misery]

There is the mechanics of the game, the probabilities. But then there is the human element, the behaviors of those you are facing, their susceptibilities, their tells, that you can use against them.

Aye, that's true, but that's not necessarily a barrier either.

I dont do poker, so I've no idea how this stuff is staged, but I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that webcams and such can often be involved in order to allow that element to be a part of the experience. Distance doesnt mean you cant get a good look at your opponents, watch their movements/expressions, or hear their voice, after all, and webcams are now extremely common. And everyone is so into things like those darned zoom calls or whatever those are (I dont know, I dont like phones or things that make me think of phones).

It's the same with board games too. You can use text to communicate, but it's muuuuuuuuuuch better to at least use voice, for obvious reasons.

...Or so I assume, I'm purely a solo player when it comes to board games. I mean, really... me, interact DIRECTLY with others in person? Ick. Ick, ick ick...

 

[Gerontius]

AI is a lot like a kaleidoscope, if you think about it. It's man-made, it takes what's put into it, and it mixes it around a bit.

 

[velociraptor]

Why play such a game online? Nothing beats face to face poker.

You are proceeding from the false assumption that others with autism handle people as well as you do. Being someone that still struggles with reading body language and eye contact, I'll happily play online with the bots.

 

[Au Naturel]

Every time I try it tells me I'm using a prohibited word.

 

[Knower of nothing]

Originally, you wrote "A person didn't pain [sic] that picture." A useful slip Not because all art comes from pain, but it involves feelings, and that is one thing missing with AI art. Though it can be exciting as a novelty, there is no mind to observe or understand. And--like with deep fakes--the potential is frightening.

The feelings you see when you look at man-made art are a mirror of your own. This means AI art can do the same. What you can't do, is show art to an AI and have it reflect feelings at itself.