A Taste Of The Apple
As a photographer, I feel somewhat like a traitor or someone who has crossed over to the “dark side” to taste the forbidden fruit, but it was inevitable since I’m a tech enthusiast at heart. The image, as labeled above, is entirely AI-generated based on my instructions. I will continue to explore these new graphic tools and may share some of the results, but I will clearly label them when AI has been used.
I came across an intriguing quote recently that suggested people fear being replaced in their jobs by AI. However, the more likely scenario is that they will be replaced by someone who knows how to use AI effectively.
We know there is still good in you Earl. You can come back! Ha!
I think you are right for job replacement initially. But there is a danger of dependency I believe, and teachers I know have been seeing this already with students. But when robotics with AI become cost effective enough in comparison to manual labor, I think a seismic shift will happen. Maybe by then it will figure out fusion for us before we burn the planet up.
What if I don’t want to come back? Ha! I found the process of crafting the detailed, descriptive language the AI used to generate an image intriguing; it felt like a creative act in itself, perhaps because of my background as a programmer. I have no doubt that as AI matures, society will develop dependencies on it. This has been true for most technological advances, but AI presents issues on a whole different level. We’ve already taken that first step, and we’ll see whether it was a mistake. History doesn’t speak especially well for mankind’s wisdom.
AI does not sit well with me and is at the present very invasive in so many of my applications on my laptop and phone. How we use will be the guiding factor for me. tI do like the idea that “the more likely scenario is that they will be replaced by someone who knows how to use AI effectively.” Then, again, how is it being used. I have a friend who teaches at CSU and they already are seeing major issues with students using it to the point that they no longer can make their own decisions. Scares me!
I have some reservations about many of AI’s capabilities, but I understand that we can’t reverse the progress; once the Genie is out of the bottle, it’s impossible to put it back. Attempting to regulate or control something with potentially dangerous implications legally has rarely been effective—just look at issues like drugs and firearms. AI will bring about changes, some of which may be beneficial and others detrimental. As a result, we might need to rethink how we work, how we teach, and what we teach. Reflecting on this, I’ve concluded that it’s better to work with what we know than to risk proceeding mindlessly. Therefore, I’m approaching AI as a tool to explore how I can use it productively. Some parts scare me as well.
Interestingly, there is a book by Bill Jay called Men Like Me that is full of portraits just like this, though in black and white (non AI). You might be interested in seeing it: https://www.amazon.com/Men-Like-Me-Bill-Jay/dp/1590051343
Thanks for the information and the link, Howard. It’s interesting! To create the image for this post, I began by roughly describing what I wanted to the AI, then refined my description based on the results it provided until I was satisfied with the result. I assume the AI has been trained on a variety of images, so if I requested an image of an old man with a beard, it would have numerous reference images to draw from. Interestingly, if I saved this descriptive text and submitted it to different AI models or versions, the outcomes could vary significantly. Even submitting it to the same AI might not yield identical results. A description would have to infinately detailed to get the exact same results each time. I’m finding this language interpretation process fascinating.