AI: Augmented Imagination
Back in 2013, a year after being acquired by Facebook, Instagram began to be massively adopted and used by many people, surpassing the milestone of 100 million monthly users.
Do you remember when you first heard about Instagram? How about your first time using it? And do you recall the debates that arose back then, with some arguing that the platform was causing the “disappearance” of photographers? We followed so many people for their photographs without considering their professional training, solely based on the effects their visual expressions had on us. How do we view the changes that the platform has undergone in the last 10 years, and how are current users utilizing Instagram?
Instagram was a platform where images were of great importance. People aimed to capture the most unique angle, portray the most unusual situation or elements and experiment with filters to give each photo a distinct touch or conceal imperfections in the photo.
However, we failed to recognize that this platform was paving the way for a 100% visual world. For the audience, each image left little room for imagination or free will. Photos were no longer “spontaneous,” but pre-produced, selected, edited, post-produced, and retouched before being shared.
In October 2013, feeling a bit fatigued and overwhelmed by Instagram, I decided to embark on a small creative side project called “Verbalgrams.” The concept was simple: what if we had a social network where images were replaced by brief and concrete descriptions? The platform would require users to use their imaginations, and the images would occur on the “inner screen” of each person reading those descriptions, much like reading a book.
Said “Verbalgrams” looked like this (they still live at https://verbalgrams.tumblr.com):
Fast forward to the present day in 2023, and debates are everywhere about the possibilities of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence-based tools. People discuss Generative Art and whether limits should be placed on these platforms, and there are concerns about their mass adoption: will machines render humans obsolete? It seems that focusing on the negative aspects of these technologies generates clickbait.
The remarkable thing is that all of these AIs have been trained with vast amounts of information (and let me clarify, information is distinct from knowledge — they are two entirely different things) to create or depict situations, imitating styles, trends, techniques, and tools that we humans have developed.
Everything that we have ever imagined throughout history did not exist before we invented it, shared it with others, improved upon it, and adopted it on a large scale.
It turned out that my little creative side project in 2013, called “Verbalgrams,” was essentially what we now refer to as “prompts.” These are the instructions we give to generative AI tools to design, paint, photograph, sketch, or draw for us.
As of April 2023, these tools cannot function without prompts. They still require a human ability — the ability to invent, imagine, and dream. For the time being, technologies like GPT-4 are unable to achieve that point, and the results of their processes lack intentionality, originality, attitude, soul, and the ability to question the audience. The good news is that we can achieve all of that with our imagination.
These tools are here to expand, increase, and augment our imagination. Even people without the ability to take good pictures or create art by themselves can now visualize ideas and concepts that were previously locked up in their minds, unable to be shared with others.
Do you have the ability to imagine new situations in familiar places, or usual situations in unexpected places? Do you enjoy mixing styles and creating reversions of classic things? Is there an idea in your head that you haven’t been able to materialize due to a lack of knowledge about certain tools? The good news is that AI is here to augment our intelligence and help us bring our ideas to life.
But let’s not fool ourselves. For example, do you use Photoshop at a professional level? How much of its capacity do you use, from 0 to 100%? Do you have a smartphone? If so, do you use it to create something new or is it simply a replacement for TV and newspapers? And if you were to get a professional camera, how much time would you have to invest in learning to use it to its fullest potential, assuming you already know how to take great pictures?
Every technology we have always had at our fingertips requires a high degree of commitment on our part to understand, use, take advantage of, and experiment with. The good thing about generative art is that it has a relatively low barrier to entry. There is a clear ‘path of least resistance’ that allows many people to try it out. Of course, if these people have nothing to say, show or share, their attempts will remain as poor and lazy photos or videos stored on their super-capable devices.
We are fortunate that generative art has a relatively low barrier to entry, allowing many people to try it out. However, it still requires some level of commitment and willingness to learn. If people have nothing to say or share, their attempts will remain as poor and lazy photos or videos stored on their devices.
Cinema, visual arts, music, and many other forms of expression are adopting new technologies to take these ideas to the next level and surprise audiences hungry for new stories, perspectives, and concepts. It’s up to us to experiment with AI, through prompts, user interfaces, or other means, and explore the limits of our creativity and imagination.
Let’s embrace the era of Augmented Imagination and put our “AI” to work.
PS: here are some of the prompts I wrote back in 2013, which were visualized by Midjourney in 2023:
