- Image comparisons show the very rapid evolution of the Midjourney artificial intelligence, used to generate images
- An illustration of how fast this technology is changing the world
- Although imperfect, generative AI is already having an impact on the job market
A year ago, ChatGPT was yet to launch and people were talking more about NFTs, cryptocurrencies and metaverses than AI. But things have changed rapidly in the meantime and today, generative artificial intelligence is at the heart of the debates. It must be said that in the space of a year, significant developments have taken place in this area. And to give us a glimpse of this evolution, a Reddit account posts samples of images generated by the Midjourney AI from a year ago and today.
While the general public is mostly familiar with ChatGPT, Midjourney is also part of this new generation of artificial intelligence that will totally change the world. But instead of generating text, it instead generates images from user requests or prompts, expressed in natural language. On Reddit, a user shares a series of comparisons between images generated in April 2022 and images generated in April 2023, with the same tool and the same prompts.
The same prompts one year apart
by u/quaratineandesign in midjourney
The same prompt one year apart #midjourney pic.twitter.com/rhRu2GZy5Q
— anita (@anitakirkovska) April 27, 2023
A year of evolution on Midjourney
According to this publication, a year ago, the images generated by the AI, a year ago, were drawings that would not have deceived anyone. On the other hand, today, it is able to create images so realistic that one could believe that they were taken with a professional camera. These images are so realistic that today, generative AI has become a source of concern.
As a reminder, it was Midjourney that was used to generate the fake photos of the Pope that made the buzz a few weeks ago. It is also this tool that was used to generate false images of a (false) certificate from former US President Donald Trump. In essence, in the wrong hands, this kind of AI can be very dangerous.
However, their popularity is exploding, like that of ChatGPT. At the end of March, Midjourney even had to stop its free trial offer because of a high number of users and a high number of people taking advantage of this free trial (people creating new accounts each time to have new tests.
“This happened at the same time as a temporary shortage of GPUs. The two things came together and it ended the service for paid users”, explained this one, at the end of March. And Midjourney isn’t the only AI capable of generating images from user prompts. Similar tools include DALL-E, developed by OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT.
AI: potential and concerns
And if AIs generating fake photos are already worrying, AIs generating videos are also coming. Faced with this, the EU is already considering a new regulation. And this could, for example, oblige people publishing content generated by artificial intelligence to warn their audiences.
But for the moment, although the performance of the AIs generating fake photos is impressive, these are not yet perfect. By observing carefully, we can still see some defects on the generated content and in particular at the level of the hands. These defects are for example visible on some of the fake photos of the Pope which made the buzz in April.
As we explained in a previous article, this problem of hands would be due to a lack of data. Indeed, generative AIs are developed through examples. However, in the photos with which AIs like Midjourney have been trained, the hands are often not very visible. Often hands in photos are hidden or incomplete (because the subject is holding something). And when they are visible, they can be in low resolution.
The problem of hands on fake AI-generated photos is often mocked in memes on Twitter.
How hands look in AI generated photos. pic.twitter.com/jrldcVWkPb
— Taleb Kabbara (@TalebKabbara) March 10, 2023
But it is certain that this problem will be corrected sooner or later. And despite its flaws, generative AI is already having an impact on the labor market. While some now fear being replaced by artificial intelligence, others have already seized the opportunities it has created. For example, the arrival of this technology has created a new profession called prompt engineer. And experienced users have also entered the lucrative business of ChatGPT courses, the use of which could become an essential skill in the job market.
