Is ‘Prompting’ the future of creativity?
I recently came across an incredible tool called #midjourney, which many of you may have discovered as well. 'Prompting' is a process where you put your creative thoughts together in the form of a command with keywords and specifications, and the MidJourney AI generates art for you based on those prompts, sometimes even surpassing your own imagination. In just a minute, I randomly created this 'bull monkey' image using MidJourney, and I'm sure others in the MJ community are coming up with even more creative prompts. It's like the ultimate layer of abstraction for me, where you imagine something and it becomes a reality in minutes. It's mind-blowing! 🤯
However, my feelings about this technology are complex. On one hand, I believe it democratizes creativity, making it accessible to everyone in a world where creativity is highly valued. It bridges the gap between 'creatives' and 'non-creatives' (although you still need to be able to imagine!). On the other hand, it seems to diminish the uniqueness and specialty of artists and art itself. If creativity becomes too commonplace, we may lose the sense of awe and amazement that comes with it, and that saddens me.
I also recognize that MidJourney and similar platforms rely on deep learning algorithms that feed on a vast amount of digital imagery, so truly novel artists will still stand out. But for how long, as the algorithms continue to learn and evolve? If the majority of artists, likely 99%, create using a process similar to how machines do it - by taking inspiration from existing sources and mixing them with their own thoughts - then why not make this process accessible to everyone? However, amidst these conflicting emotions, I am also concerned about the licensing of art produced by these platforms and the potential monopolization of creativity. That would be disheartening.
Moreover, it's not just MidJourney, but other platforms like OpenAI's DALL-E 2 are also emerging, indicating that this wave of AI-powered creativity is here to stay and grow. We need to upskill ourselves and ride this wave. I can already imagine Udemy courses flooding in on 'prompting' as a brand new skill for the new world. Anyway, if you haven't tried it yet, give it a go and share your thoughts. I would love to hear your perspective on how AI might impact our creative future.
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