AI is successfully fooling people into thinking art generated by a computer model is the real deal. That is, they believe another person created the artwork and not AI. But is it still art anyway? Whatever you want to call it, it’s lots of fun and can create mesmerizing and surprising images after you enter text prompts. This is where it gets creative for people using AI because coming up with the right phrases often gets surprising results.
The DALL·E application programming interface (API), named for surrealist Salvador Dalí and Pixar robot WALL-E, got its start in 2015. That’s when Elon Musk, Microsoft, and others donated billions to the OpenAI research group based in the Bay Area. However, the first version of DALL·E wasn’t introduced until January 2021. Now, DALL·E 2 is here. The group’s stated mission “is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.”
Does it benefit humanity if they can’t tell if the artist is a human or a machine? Or that the generated art is based on existing uncredited artwork?
You decide, but for now, a select few humans are generating images DALL·E 2, while the similar craiyon (called DALL·E mini) is open to anyone who wants to give it a whirl. The software can also retouch and edit existing photos, taking out or placing new elements, which they have dubbed “in-painting.”
Below are examples of what DALL·E users created.
Here’s how it works. Video by OpenAI:
People Fooled By AI Artist
According to PC Mag, a recent survey of 842 people by Tidio found that DALL·E 2 did an impressive job of fooling people. Strangely, more people thought the AI art was by a human artist than a painting by an actual human surrealist painter. In particular, a science fiction scene made by DALL·E deceived 73% of people into thinking a person painted it.
“Tidio showed several images to its audience and asked of each: Did AI make this or did an artist? A surrealist painting from the 80s was judged as painted by a human by 68% of people surveyed—while a DALL·E 2 creation was deemed human-made by 73%. Nine percent of those surveyed said it was easy for them to tell whether AI or a human was behind an artwork, but Tidio pointed out that not all of those people were correct in their assessments of the art they were shown,” PC Mag shared.
Below is a Sci-Fi image not featured in the survey.
Interestingly, 67% said AI artwork is still “a form of art,” while 25% said DALL·E 2 helped conceptualize ideas. Almost as many at 24%, said it was a good source of inspiration.
Meanwhile, 41% expressed concern that the “worst aspect” of the AI image generator is that it would make it easier to create “deep fakes.”
Related: AI Lie Detectors May Decide When the Customer Isn’t Right
After trying out Craiyon and seeing friends on Twitter do so, it was more about having fun. And, the results were quite interesting and surprisingly intriguing. For example, here are a couple of attempts below. Perhaps, AI can perceive things in a fresh way that can give people a new perspective or insight into how people conceptualize all manner of things.
And here is an excellent example of DALL·E 2 in action:
Robot Artist Paints Like a Human
Rather sadly, only 18% expressed concern that artists could lose their jobs in the survey. On that note, Ai-Da is the first robot to paint like a human artist, with paints and a brush. Cameras in her eyes and computer memory allow her to take in her surroundings so she can sketch portraits. Her language model also allows her to talk, and she looks quite human.
According to her creator, Aidan Meller from Oxford, her name comes from the computing pioneer Ada Lovelace, and she is painting “mind-blowing” and “groundbreaking” work.
“I enjoy painting. I love to make things,” Ai-Da says.
The robot even has favorite artists: Michelangelo, Wassily Kandinsky, Doris Salcedo, and Yoko Ono. As she methodically paints, it can take about five hours to complete a one-of-a-kind painting. She also writes poetry.
An Ethical Project/ Robot Artist
Meller sees Ai-Da as an “ethical project,” a “comment and critique” on fast-evolving technology. How comfortable should we be not knowing humans from machines, after all? Well, according to Ai-Da herself:
“I am an artist if art means communicating something about who we are and whether we like where we are going. To be an artist is to illustrate the world around you.”
At the same time, she says, “I do not have consciousness,” so the process is not one of imagination in the human sense. Even so, as we’ve seen, the end product may be hard to tell from apart from a human artist’s work.
Below, Ai-Da discussed painting Queen Elizabeth II for the Platinum Jubilee. The multi-dimensional artwork was dubbed “Algorithm Queen.” In the video below, Meller notes that the 70-year reign of the Queen marks the same time computers first began, thanks to the pioneering Alan Turing.
Video via The Royal Family Channel”
Below are a few more DALL·E and Craiyon images just for fun.
Featured image created with Craiyon