Read Time: 5 minutes
Yo. This is the Saturday Storyteller, your weekly writer’s retreat that delivers the goods on timeless storytelling paradigms and cutting-edge craft.
I’ll also deliver the unexpected to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Here’s what I’ve got for you today:
- Creative AI: Will machines replace humans?
- Applications to explore
- Memes
Two humans and a robot walk into a bar.
The robot orders a drink, and the bartender asks, “And what will the humans have?“
The robot replies, “Just put everything on my tab, by last call, I’ll be powering them down.”
Why Talk About Creative AI Now?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the world of creative AI is making waves.
I don’t usually chase new trends – (unless we’re time-traveling back to 2006, and you’re watching me buy an HD DVD player. 🤦♂️)
Just 45 days ago, my perspective on creating with AI shifted dramatically.
Today, I’m here to introduce you to creative AI and explain why I’m confident that these dynamic tools bring about positive changes.
What Is Creative AI?
Creative AI is a new frontier that pushes the boundaries of art and technology.
Although creative AI, or AI art, has a long history dating back to the 1950s, it has blossomed over the years, gaining widespread attention due to its assistance in generating original visuals.
Creative AI refers to the use of artificial intelligence algorithms, including large language models, machine learning, and other forms of computer-generated processes to produce digital creations.
This includes a wide range of creative forms, such as:
- Digital Art: Creative AI picture generators create and augment digital paintings and illustrations at unprecedented speed.
- Music: AI algorithms generate original music creations, resulting in compositions that sound like a breath of fresh air.
- Photography: Machine learning models produce or enhance digital photographs, transforming existing images into more personalized works of art.
- Film and Animation: Neural networks are used to generate digital visual content, blending together multiple images or videos to create new film and animation creations.
- Writing: The robots become your creative AI writer to draft simple or complex text.
🤔 this text is made up of pixels 🤯
What Are The Benefits Of Creative AI?
Creative AI has the potential to inspire other artists, rewrite the rules, and make a difference for our generation.
As creative AI evolves and grows, I’m excited to see how its capabilities will innovate storytelling and other creative fields.
Imagine a world where artists hone technology to create masterpieces that illuminate the human experience. The good news is, that world already exists and it has been around for decades.
Now, with the help of creative AI’s large language models, human artists can become superhuman, without the need for technological implants.
Conversations with my AI assistant a.k.a. “Automated Dave” have accelerated my artwork flow to Ludicrous Speed, and helped me connect the dots on pieces I’m under and overthinking.
Instead of checking a search engine, a Facebook group, or asking other artists for first-run feedback, I just chat with a personalized AI philosopher, who helps me look through a different lens to clarify my tunnel vision.
Moreover, creative AI can be a fun pastime for projecting the movies playing in your head.
Here’s a meme I recently made, with its background image created entirely from scratch.
I used DALL-E, a creative AI picture generator powered by OpenAI that can create illustrations from textual descriptions.
As a classically-trained storyteller, I used my creative writing chops to craft a visual description that DALL-E could bring to life on the screen.
With the help of DALL-E’s machine learning capabilities, I was able to turn my ideas into new intellectual property in under 30 minutes.
Skip a day and I transformed the original image into a panoramic shot of the horizon, which I’m now using on Twitter.
In under one hour over two days, I partnered with a creative AI picture generator to build a world of endless possibilities while providing me with a welcome escape from reality.
Here’s my expanded dimensions.
What Are The Challenges Of Creative AI?
1. AI ain’t fullproof.
It gets stuff wrong.
In last week’s issue of TSS, I asked ChatGPT to fact-check a quote from Dumb & Dumber – but it cited the wrong movie, The Nut Job.
“You can’t triple stamp a double stamp!”
— Harry Dunne, Dumb & Dumber
While inaccuracy may not matter for fiction writers creating worlds of fantasy that are not grounded in reality, it can be a challenge for artists striving for accuracy and authenticity.
2. Jobs will cease to exist.
Poof.
They’re gone, and it’s not fun.
But guess what?
Poof again.
Different jobs come into existence, and it’s awesome.
A whole new universe of opportunities is set to unfold.
As artists, we have the duty to not only produce art, but also to create jobs and career paths. A mentor once tried to teach me that real artists don’t starve. It only took me five years to let that sink in.
By embracing creative AI tools, we can understand their strengths and weaknesses to help the younger generation find their way in this exciting new field of AI artistry.
3. Some humans will train the AI to be improper.
Misuse of technology is a serious concern, with AI being used for wicked stuff like deepfakes, propaganda, fake reviews, hate speech, fake information, and stealing artwork.
My mission is to translate the human condition into digital footprints that inspire and counteract the negative forces.
I intend to take a humanistic approach to work with AI by nurturing, collaborating, and reflecting on machines to align them with my ethical goals.
Creative AI Tools to Amplify Your Performance
While I’m just starting to explore the age of creative AI and its promising technologies, here are some beginner tools to help you embark on a new adventure:
Digital Art:
- Midjourney: Creates unique digital art pieces based on textual input
- Stable Diffusion: Blends images or videos to create new visual content.
- DALL-E: Generates images from textual descriptions.
- Deep Dream Generator: AI tool that generates unique images from existing images.
Music:
- Amper Music: AI tool that creates original music compositions.
- AIVA (Artificial Intelligence Virtual Artist): Generates original music compositions.
Photography:
- Pikazo: AI tool that turns photos into abstract and stylized images.
- Ostagram: Combines two images to create a new one.
Film and Animation:
- Stable Diffusion: Blends multiple images or videos to create new visual content.
- DeepFake: Many outfits offer AI processes that manipulate existing video content. Again, its use raises serious ethical and legal concerns, but it could be a valuable tool for filmmakers like me to make movies.
Writing:
- ChatGPT (OpenAI): Conversational AI solution that can be used for a wide range of writing tasks.
- SudoWrite: #1 creative writing AI for innovative story development.
- GrowthBar: SEO optimization platform that provides AI writing features, keyword research, and backlink analysis.
- Copy.ai: An AI-powered writing assistant for content creation and copywriting.
- Bard: (2.6.2023) Google announced its experimental AI service, Bard, will be widely available to the public in the coming weeks.
- Bing: (2.7.2023) Microsoft shared plans for a new AI-powered Bing with Chat and Compose in Edge’s sidebar for task requests.
Final Take
As an artist, I’m a curious cat about new tools that summon the muse or enhance my process.
I have been surprising at how quickly I’ve integrated creative AI tools into my art and workflow, but I’ve made sure to consider the ethical considerations of everything.
By taking responsibility for the AI’s learning process and my intentions, I’m driven to become fluent in large language models and craft bespoke pieces of art.
As creative AI continues to grow, I’m excited to see what the future holds.
TLDR
Robots will not replace humans.
Robots are powerful, but they need us – for now.
Let’s work together to raise the AI to embrace their human creators and honor our intentions to change the world for good.