DALL-E – machine learning model was created at the beginning of 2021 by artificial intelligence research laboratory OpenAI. Its purpose is to generates artificial images based on given text.
What started as small project quickly gain lot of interest that website couldn’t deal with. Authors made limit of one thousand users that had permission to use DALL-E for a week and a waitlist for other interested. It ended up with thousands of people waiting up to two months to get only few days to experiment with AI. In April 2022 DALL-E 2 got introduced yet still it had restricted access and waitlist. Finally on 28 September 2022 got opened to the public. Now 1.5 million people use it every day.
How does it work? You can create any image with just a text or import a photo to base on. The more descriptive words will you use the more accurate graphics will be. It’s important to specify what kind of image you have in mind: real photography, 3D design or maybe a pixel art. The only thing that limits the user is their imagination.
When it comes to uploaded photo it shortens time spend on postproduction. Professional photographers don’t have to waste hours on cutting out unwanted guest on client’s wedding or overflowed trash bin in the background. Not only AI generated images can reduce time spend in front of a computer, it can also save time while traveling. It’s hard to get a perfect photo in a place full of tourists. Now you can get rid of all those people using DALL-E 2 and enjoy your holiday without getting angry at someone who stepped into your photo frame.
Such powerful tool opens new possibilities but also a threats. Not only someone can create a completely new identity on social media and fool all of their followers or make a funny image of their friend. With help of AI generated images leaders can create perfect propaganda, especially in areas with restricted access to information. They could present their opponents as they please so the people would be in their favour. That’s quite abstract thinking but very much possible. However such technology would be mostly used to create pornography of any kind.
Creators of DALL-E foresaw that kind of situation and banned some words so people wouldn’t create inappropriate photographs, yet they are not the only one in possession of such technology e.g. StabillityAI – their rival on the market. Even though these companies prepared their models not to create violent or sexual content it will definitely happened in the future weather we like it or not. That is why we must prepare to eliminate spreading that kind of images online by group of moderators on website or hopefully in the near future AI systems.
But there is other, significant result of inventing AI generated images. Whole art industry will change drastically. From now on creating graphic is not a complexed process anymore. With AI pictures can be created within seconds. Every single day DALL-E 2 users make two million illustrations. OpenAI allows its customers to monetize work created with their AI model. It will result in huge NFT increase on the market. A lot of so called artists will steal generated images and sell them as created fully by themselves. It will be difficult to identify who puts hours of work into their projects and who only seek oppurtunity for money. However it opens a new path for artists. Just like film became 10th muse, AI illustration is a new way to express ourselves.
Inspiration: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjNxPFgDomx/
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DALL-Ehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stable_Diffusion
https://openai.com/blog/dall-e-now-available-without-waitlist/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DALL-E
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/09/openai-image-generator-dall-e-now-available-without-waitlist/