A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving found me embarking on a digital odyssey into the realm of AI-crafted artistry. Sat at my trusty computer, I dipped my toes into the swirling, technicolour pool of Midjourney, a cheeky little AI number with a knack for conjuring up images from mere textual whispers. Like a digital Aladdin, I typed in “/imagine”, and lo and behold, a cryptic message sprung forth from the bot: “There are endless possibilities …”
With anticipation, I proceeded to paint a textual portrait for my AI Picasso:
An African American lad, donned in white t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, soaring through the clouds and space as if swept up in some ethereal dream.
Midjourney, in response, whipped up four interpretations that would’ve made our good friend Bob Ross chuckle with the term “happy little accidents”. Each piece was bedecked with clouds, as unruly as a pack of rebellious cotton balls, and our man of the hour, well, he wore the face of anonymity. Instead of swooping through the clouds, he opted for a variety of, shall we say, alternative modes of engagement – walking, sitting, or disappearing head-first into the fluffy mass. Let’s not beat around the bush: the images were codswallop.
But, undeterred by initial disappointments, I spent a few days marinating in the creative juices of fellow text-to-image prompt users. With renewed vigour, I honed my descriptions, doggedly pursuing that elusive connection between my visions and the AI’s artistic interpretation. Through sheer persistence, I finally managed to lead our AI maestro in the right direction. I’ve transformed my daughter into a spitting image of Princess Leia, recast myself as a guardian angel, and even given good ol’ Santa Claus a Batman-esque makeover.
As a blogging Black father, I was particularly intrigued to explore how the AI would interpret the concept of fatherhood. One whimsical day, I entered: a young African American father cradling a sleeping infant. The product of this prompt was four tender images, each speaking volumes about the potent possibilities of AI artistry. […]
