4 ms·

I've played with them a bit. I understand at least a lot of the science behind it, and the tech is interesting, but what people seem to want to do with it is ki

I've played with them a bit. I understand at least a lot of the science behind it, and the tech is interesting, but what people seem to want to do with it is kind of boring to me. I've been working with generative art for a long time, but for some reason this doesn't really move me the way that far less technically impressive stuff does. I'm especially bored with the "Will AI replace artists?" breathlessness. It's tedious. Of course not. These tools are each like an artist in and of themselves. Did Picasso replace Rembrandt? Did Warhol replace Picasso? Nah. No AI will create what I'd create, or what Takashi Murakami would create, or any given high school kid with a paintbrush. If all you think art is is being able to complete a commission, then sure, you'd probably see this as replacing what you think the purpose of an artist is. But you'd be wrong, and wrong in such a boring way that it's not worth debating. Even if these AIs started generating their own ideas, it would be amazing and fascinating and worth celebrating, but it's not replacing anything. Just adding something new and cool into the world.

IceMetalPunk 4y ago
Completely agree. Also, "Even if these AIs started generating their own ideas, it would be amazing and fascinating and worth celebrating": they already can, if you combine them with something like GPT-3 :)
stocknoob 4y ago
I’m similarly bored with “AI won’t have any meaningful impact on arists” takes. Think of a well-reviewed game like Slay the Spire (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slay_the_Spire https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slay_the_Spire). Excellent gameplay, amateurish art which they had still to commission for ~thousands of dollars. Now they can get better quality art, for pennies, in minutes. Is this a boring example not worth discussing?
- cityofdelusion 4y ago
  It took me a couple of hours to get 5 generated images that had a semi-consistent theme and look that I wanted -- for PowerPoint slides. I don't see how AI art in its current state could possibly be used for something like the art in Slay the Spire. I challenge the "now... better quality, for pennies, in minutes" assertion. Maybe in a few years.
  - stocknoob 4y ago
    https://www.reddit.com/r/StableDiffusion/comments/wlhubp/stable_diffusion_really_nails_portraits/ https://www.reddit.com/r/StableDiffusion/comments/wlhubp/sta... You need to find the right prompts. Which is something you can buy, if you can’t figure it out: https://promptbase.com/prompt/dnd-dwarf-cleric-portrait https://promptbase.com/prompt/dnd-dwarf-cleric-portrait And then use to make as many variations as you need.
    - klyrs 4y ago
      So the alternative to paying an artist is... paying a stable diffusion jockey*? I'd rather pay an artist, they tend to have unique and consistent styles that can be evaluated a priori. * prompt engineer? Hilarious.
      - stocknoob 4y ago
        If your google-fu isn’t good you can hire a researcher. In general if you really suck at using a tool then you need to hire someone, it’s not the tool’s problem. And yeah, I’m not sure everyone would prefer paying a human for 100x the cost at 100x the delay.
  - edanm 4y ago
    Many people take longer than 2 hours to learn how to do simple things on a computer. Especially in the past, when UI wasn't as good, many people had serious trouble using computers. I think we can both agree that computers were a worthwhile technology that was worth spending time learning to use. The fact that playing with these models for 2 hours a week after they came out isn't enough, does not mean that other people, given time, can't use them for crazy things and/or build crazy things around them.
- shrimpx 4y ago
  AI won't have a meaningful impact on studio artists. The art market values artist labor and persistence over a long time more than "cool visuals". When you invest in art, you're betting that the artist will keep going, laboring in their studio and producing new hand-made material for years to come. Technology that promises to eliminate the labor out of art won't have any impact on this. Stable Diffusion is to studio artists what motorcycles are to professional runners. It's besides the point. That said, I think SD will impact commercial gaming, marketing, etc., where cutting out labor is part of the goal.

IceMetalPunk 4y ago

Completely agree. Also, "Even if these AIs started generating their own ideas, it would be amazing and fascinating and worth celebrating": they already can, if you combine them with something like GPT-3 :)

stocknoob 4y ago

I’m similarly bored with “AI won’t have any meaningful impact on arists” takes. Think of a well-reviewed game like Slay the Spire (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slay_the_Spire https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slay_the_Spire). Excellent gameplay, amateurish art which they had still to commission for ~thousands of dollars. Now they can get better quality art, for pennies, in minutes. Is this a boring example not worth discussing?

cityofdelusion 4y ago
It took me a couple of hours to get 5 generated images that had a semi-consistent theme and look that I wanted -- for PowerPoint slides. I don't see how AI art in its current state could possibly be used for something like the art in Slay the Spire. I challenge the "now... better quality, for pennies, in minutes" assertion. Maybe in a few years.
- stocknoob 4y ago
  https://www.reddit.com/r/StableDiffusion/comments/wlhubp/stable_diffusion_really_nails_portraits/ https://www.reddit.com/r/StableDiffusion/comments/wlhubp/sta... You need to find the right prompts. Which is something you can buy, if you can’t figure it out: https://promptbase.com/prompt/dnd-dwarf-cleric-portrait https://promptbase.com/prompt/dnd-dwarf-cleric-portrait And then use to make as many variations as you need.
  - klyrs 4y ago
    So the alternative to paying an artist is... paying a stable diffusion jockey*? I'd rather pay an artist, they tend to have unique and consistent styles that can be evaluated a priori. * prompt engineer? Hilarious.
    - stocknoob 4y ago
      If your google-fu isn’t good you can hire a researcher. In general if you really suck at using a tool then you need to hire someone, it’s not the tool’s problem. And yeah, I’m not sure everyone would prefer paying a human for 100x the cost at 100x the delay.
- edanm 4y ago
  Many people take longer than 2 hours to learn how to do simple things on a computer. Especially in the past, when UI wasn't as good, many people had serious trouble using computers. I think we can both agree that computers were a worthwhile technology that was worth spending time learning to use. The fact that playing with these models for 2 hours a week after they came out isn't enough, does not mean that other people, given time, can't use them for crazy things and/or build crazy things around them.
shrimpx 4y ago
AI won't have a meaningful impact on studio artists. The art market values artist labor and persistence over a long time more than "cool visuals". When you invest in art, you're betting that the artist will keep going, laboring in their studio and producing new hand-made material for years to come. Technology that promises to eliminate the labor out of art won't have any impact on this. Stable Diffusion is to studio artists what motorcycles are to professional runners. It's besides the point. That said, I think SD will impact commercial gaming, marketing, etc., where cutting out labor is part of the goal.