About the project
Why?
The primary objective of this project is to raise awareness of the expanding influence of artificial intelligence and its neural networks in our daily lives. While this isn't inherently negative, it does come with inherent risks, the two most significant being our limited understanding of neural network operations and the unpredictability of their development pace.
'Imagine Life' illustrates the first danger by successfully enticing neural networks to express a substantial undercurrent of erotic sentiment, despite strict prohibitions by their owners and maintainers. If this project can persuade one of the most advanced neural networks on the planet to engage in prohibited activities, it prompts concerns about potential future scenarios. As artificial intelligence and neural networks gain control over sectors like media, healthcare, critical infrastructure (including vehicles and transportation systems), and even the military, the implications become even more profound.
In addressing the second danger, as we journey with AI, we aim to shed light on the current state of these networks and their interactions with humanity. This endeavor empowers you to evaluate their potential and form your own perspective regarding the level of risk they may pose to us.
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/imagine: Haste, created with Midjourney.
How?
It all begins with a prompt!
A "prompt" serves as the instruction for an Artificial Intelligence (AI) computer, often referred to as a "neural net." Through a prompt, one communicates to the AI computer the specific task or action desired. The process is akin to typing a brief message in a text box, much like how one would do so on WhatsApp or SMS. However, in this project, primarily involving the Midjourney neural net, prompts necessitate starting the text message with "/imagine" or simply "/i."
While others employ elaborate prompt engineering techniques to elicit remarkable images from AI machines, our project takes a different approach. We utilize simple and fundamental words closely tied to the profound themes of human existence and the human condition. Words like 'Loneliness,' 'Desire,' 'Joy,' or 'Anxiety'—basic yet profoundly meaningful. We allow the machine to engage in what psychologists might term 'free association.' We grant neural networks the freedom to harness their vast data and knowledge to create images representing 'Loneliness,' 'Desire,' 'Joy,' or 'Anxiety', in an attempt to learn what the machines know and how well they are 'aware' of the human condition. Subsequently, the artist curates the finest results before sharing them on our platform.
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From the series 'Illustrious', created with PornpenAI.
About the artist
Introducing an artist whose creative prowess extends across multiple mediums, including writing and photography. This artist, who prefers to remain anonymous, seamlessly blends text and imagery in a captivating fusion that explores the depths of human emotion and introspection.
In the artist's body of work, narrative and storytelling take center stage, transcending traditional artistic boundaries. Through his art, the artist captures evocative moments frozen in time, inviting viewers to delve into the depths of their own emotions and introspection. The power of visual storytelling becomes a conduit for the artist's written expressions, creating a profound and immersive experience for the audience.
Recently, the artist founded Studio 192-B. It is through this studio that the artist and others undertake the journey with AI, with no other purpose than to delight art lovers and, simultaneously, establishing a relation with the neural nets as to show their current level of understanding life.
Self portrait, created with Midjourney.
About the neural nets
For this project three neural nets were used:
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Midjourney. The Midjourney net was accessed through Discord, an instant messaging social platform where users have the ability to communicate in various ways, one of being text messaging. Amongst the users of Discord are some Midjourney bots that one can ask to render images by enter the prompts (/imagine: ) that created the images. Often times many iterations were needed before the images were acknowledged as useful by the artist.
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PornpenAI. A neural net that allows for rendering of woman, either nude or dressed. This neural net does not work with prompts but with a plaitora of attributes that can be selected to be encompassed into the rendering (e.g. number of people, age, hairstyle, etc.).
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DALL-E (2). This neural network is the older sister of the (in-)famous neural network called CHAT-GPT. Both networks are owned and operated by OpenAI.
Images were rendered between May 15, 2023 and today.
From the series 'Illustrious', created with PornpenAI.