AI-Generated Art: From Text to Images & Beyond

See the image above. Would you believe that this image was generated by AI?

When we hear the word art, most likely, in your head, there are famous paintings of artists that you have ever come across, interesting architectural structures or sculptures, or something else entirely. 

Art developed from a simple reproduction of reality to create a unique product. The first requires eyes and talent, and the second involves skill and imagination. What does Artificial Intelligence have to do with it? 

Different people give the meaning of the word art differently depending on their perception of the world. People create all the previously listed works, and artificial intelligence is endowed with many non-obvious features. 

In this article, we will talk about art created by artificial intelligence and try to expand our knowledge on this issue.

A short history of AI-generated art

The history of artificial intelligence for creating works of art began about 70 years ago. Yes, yes, you may not think so. Indeed, computer graphics were used to create simple patterns and shapes even then. 

To use these basic algorithms, having entered them correctly, a person receives a given pattern on the screen. Here it will be appropriate to mention the pioneer of computer art, the famous mathematician from Germany, Frieder Nake. He created the Matrix Multiplication portfolio, which consisted of two images. 

Just a few decades later, namely in the 1970s and 1980s, art created by artificial intelligence moved to another level and developed in the direction of automated design. From that moment on, designers gained the ability to design and manage and, of course, create three-dimensional forms on the computer, which looked more realistic. 

Harold Cohen, an artist of British origin, developed a set of algorithms. He called this technology AARON. It allowed the computer to draw with the unevenness of hand drawing. Harold Cohen gave instructions to the program, which at one time had to draw specific objects. 

Still, technological development did not wait long, and it turned out that the computer, according to the artists, began to make creative decisions, drawing new forms. In the 1990s, AI-generated art went beyond the creation of visual effects and touched such a field as the creation of new forms of poetry, music, and even in robotics. 

These times, artificial art created by artificial intelligence is used everywhere because such a rapid development of technology only complicates this.

What is the state of development of AI-Generated Art technology?

We can talk about this for a very long time, but so that you will not be so bored reading a long text, we will focus on the most important news or achievements. Let’s start with the fact that the tool for creating art with artificial intelligence has developed significantly since 1990.

Now, dozens of programs allow the average user to try as an artist of such a product. In addition to just sites in the browser, apps are also created, and if you are interested in app development cost, mentioned on the page – https://mlsdev.com/blog/app-development-cost, then it is not in vain because now it is vital for any project. 

All fans of Cosmopolitan magazine, which has been around for more than 130 years, could admire the magazine’s cover, created by artificial intelligence. At that time, the development of DALL·E was not presented for a wide range of use. Graphic designers, authors, and architects worked together for a long time to create the final product. 

If the tool takes several minutes to create one image, how could these specialists spend so much time creating one cover? 

That is an excellent and apt question. To achieve the ideal result, they constantly changed the parameters. And another equally sensational piece of news is that DALL-E 2 users now have access to uploading people’s faces to edit them using an AI-based image generation system. 

Although the company has said that it will monitor the use of this feature, many people are concerned about it. Let’s figure out whether it is worth using artificial intelligence to create art.

Advantages and challenges of AI-generated art

Let’s start with the benefits.

• The results of the work of artificial intelligence are very realistic or hyper-realistic

This item allows you to use photos and videos in other fields. For example, in the cinema. Often, in films or series, it is necessary to use shots that cannot be shot live, and using computer graphics is time-consuming and expensive. Modern artificial intelligence technology for creating works of art comes to the rescue.

• Continuous development

The world does not stand still but is constantly developing. Newer and better AI model systems are released every year. Likewise, the data provided to these systems to create works of art is also evolving. All this contributes to the improvement of ideas and results.

• Imagination has no limits

Imagination is one of a person’s cognitive processes and, as we can already understand, not only a person. It consists of the fact that, based on experience, completely new images are created from known elements. 

The previous point shows us that since the technology and base of artificial intelligence elements are constantly increasing, it contributes to creating unique elements. Humans have a limited scope of perception.

Don’t think that this tool has only pluses. There are still points that raise questions.

• Ethical norms

Since the technology at the level of development at which it exists now has become widely used only recently, some aspects remain unresolved. They concern copyright, misuse, and distribution. For example, we’ve said before that the images created by artificial intelligence look very realistic, but what if someone wants to make people believe fake news? Again, this is due to the wide availability of the tool.

• It is not possible to intervene in the process

These programs are programmed with the help of training programs for a particular algorithm of actions and results. Therefore, we will fail if we want to change something during the creation process because the model outputs products based on its data.

• Art without emotions

When you go to a museum to look at the paintings of famous artists, the tour guide will mention the life history of these personalities. Events, people, and impressions they met in specific periods turned into works of art. 

That is, emotional content plays a significant role. When we talk about artificial intelligence, it does not have such an ability. This is what can cause some people not to accept such art.

5 AI Art Generators You Should Know About

1. DALL-E 2

OpenAI released a natural language model called GPT-3 in 2020, and it has been published in many publications. 

A year later, the digital image model followed by DALL-E appeared on the Internet, which was updated to DALL-E 2. Here you can create images according to the description in entirely different styles. If you set specific explanations and hints, the program will offer you the exact result, but there is also the option of a vague description. 

In this case, artificial intelligence may surprise you. A few more interesting facts – it’s the only AI model depicting the person and the robot. If you are suddenly interested in this instrument, you will receive 50 free and 15 credits per month upon registration. Additional credits can be purchased at a rate of 115 credits for US $15.

2. Midjourney

Midjourney began to gain high popularity after an interesting story that got into many newspapers. The state of Colorado held an annual art competition that selected winners in various categories. 

Participants submit their work. So did Jason M. Allen. But to create a picture, he did not use brushes, paints, and canvas, but the Midjourney program, where you get a picture with the help of the entered text. 

A few more features of the platform. Emphasis is placed on a bright, surreal, unearthly style. If you already use Discord, you will find it easy to master this tool because you need to write hints directly in the chat. Note that all members can see your message. Each user initially receives 25 credits. 

If you have exhausted them, you can purchase additional credits. This happens with the help of a unique app. In general, mobile app development services are gaining popularity because they greatly facilitate the work of projects and provide future users with a pleasant and straightforward user experience.

3.VQGAN+CLIP

This artificial intelligence image generator is free and runs on Google Collaboratory notebook. Perfect for beginners who are just starting to get interested in this activity. But do not rejoice so quickly. There are also disadvantages. The first is that everything happens relatively slowly, and the second takes up a lot of memory on your device. Consider this before downloading. Each tooltip starts as a dot. The tool is written in Python and then turns into an image.

4. The Night Cafe

You may have already heard somewhere about this generator of art created by artificial intelligence because its popularity is high. Using this instrument is extremely simple and fast, unlike the previous option. 

After describing the desired image, you will see the result in 30 seconds. It is also worth adding that it will be original and high-quality. To try this tool, you can try a free trial version, and then, if you decide to continue using it, you can purchase credits or participate in the community.

5. Stable Diffusion

Don’t worry that this tool is in the last position. One can say even more. He wins over many of his predecessors. Let’s start with the fact that it is one of the newest AI generators on the market. This already says a lot. The following convincing argument will be its free use. 

All you need to do is find Stable Diffusion in the browser, add a description, and the result is in front of you. The images you receive can be used for both commercial and non-commercial purposes. And the last feature of the tool is that, in addition to creating an image from text, you can use Stable Diffusion to convert pictures to AI-based art.