Introducing AI:Next – Discover what’s next in the world of AI.
About a year ago, AI-powered creation tools and images started appearing on my socials. Being a creator, I was intrigued. DALL-E was the first image creation tool I experimented with. The results were sometimes spot-on—but mostly hilarious.
As the image tools improved, I began using images I created as part of my daily work for blog posts and social media.
I haven’t had this feeling since the early days of the internet.
I knew this was the start of something incredible.
I knew that these image tools and large language models like ChatGPT would launch a new technology revolution.
The excitement is the same, except the speed of innovation and creation is one thousandfold. I made a colossal mistake during those early Internet days – I spent more time reading and observing than creating. I was terrible at HTML; I could barely cobble sites together.
But I was young; I had other ‘priorities’ and didn’t bother to put the time in to learn.
Big mistake!
Fast forward: I still need to improve at tech, but AI’s implications in design and marketing are ignored at your peril.
Since I spend most of my spare time experimenting with these incredible tools, I started this newsletter to help fellow creatives navigate this new and wonderful world. I’ll include links to new tools, the latest headlines in AI, links to learning resources, and some images I’ve found on the web.
The newsletter will be published at least once a week as time permits. I hope you join me on this journey.
Let me begin by saying I absolutely love what’s happening in the AI space. I started playing with image generation on DALL-E last year. The results were…meh. But it was fun, and I saw the possibilities on the horizon. I continued to experiment with DALL-E, I tried Stable Diffusion, then I discovered Midjourney and that’s where things really took off. Then ChatGPT was released to the public. I do a lot of writing for my job, and AI has helped me create better content faster. It’s not an end-all/be-all (although someday it might!). AI for writing should be used as an aid, not a robot, to finish your work. The combination of writing and imaging tools used in concert is an amazing thing.
“The enemies of progress are those who maintain the status quo, resist change, and cling to outdated ideas, while the rest of the world moves forward.” — Unknown
AI and Art
AI is helping artists worldwide to create new and original pieces of art. It’s helping them create new and exciting worlds, stories, and visuals they could never produce. AI is also helping writers with their work by suggesting new and creative sentence structures and words. It’s also assisting musicians in creating sounds that they could have never done before. AI allows people to explore new worlds of art and allows for more creativity and innovation.
Why Should Artists Care?
Artists must take the time to learn and understand AI and how it works, as this knowledge will be invaluable for them in their work. Major companies are already using AI to create new products and services, and it will only get bigger. By understanding how AI works, artists can use it to their advantage and create artwork that can stand out from the crowd.
True Art Is Not Going Anywhere
Hear me out: AI will never replace things crafted by hand. Sure, we already see electronic exhibits filled with motion and color, but how can you compare that to a beautiful painting, drawing, or sculpture? No AI can replace the personal touch of an artist. Art is, and will always be, a form of expression that a computer cannot replicate.
My Personal Art Struggle and Backstory
Things are moving so quickly, and I wondered how this would affect my art production. While I love to sit in Midjourney and crank out wild imaginative images, it is not the same as a pen to paper or brush to canvas.
For the last 11 years, I have been a hobby lettering artist. I have loved letters, lettering, and typography for as long as I can remember. I was a graffiti artist briefly in my youth, and I embraced lettering and posted almost daily for about five years.
The ‘problem’ arose that I spent much more time playing with the latest shiny object on the computer and iPad and less time putting pen to paper. I slacked off and eventually stopped posting. I also noticed a shift on Instagram, which was once the haven for artists to share their work — it’s now a TikTok ripoff filled with vapid videos and memes.
As things have accelerated these past few months, I’ve thought about what would make me stand out again in the blur of the AI art movement. I’ve decided not to fight the tide — I’m still all in on AI tools — but I need to take a step back to my roots and have the discipline to step away from the computer and get back to the (literal) drawing board.
Conclusion
AI is already taking over many aspects of everyday life, and art is no exception. AI can provide an excellent opportunity for artists to explore new ideas and create unique pieces. However, it is still important to remember that there is no substitute for the human touch in art. AI can only be an aid to assist in the artistic process, not to replace it.
It’s the stuff of nightmares for any die-hard Taylor Swift fan. You log onto Ticketmaster, only to find that there’s not a single concert ticket left. And the worst part is, you know who has them all: that one evil man who loves to hoard them and won’t share them with anyone.
You’ve tried reasoning with him, begging even, but it’s all fallen on deaf ears. He sits in his secret lair, surrounded by stacks of Taylor Swift concert tickets, cackling evilly as he denies you and all other fans the chance to see her live. He enjoys watching them suffer.
“The poor fools will never get their hands on my tickets!”
But don’t worry, dear reader. This is a tale with a happy ending. Because eventually, justice always prevails. One way or another, that man will be forced to share his tickets.
The fans stormed his house and burned it down and everything with it. His cat, Mr. Whiskers, barely made it out alive.
A man launches his homemade rocket in the desert to escape the world he knows.
He had always dreamed of launching his own rocket. He had always been fascinated by rockets. When he was a child, he watched documentaries about space travel and dreamed of leaving his home planet behind one day.
So, when he finally got the chance, he took it. He had no practical knowledge of rockets, just a dream, and determination.
He spent months building a rocket in his backyard, using whatever materials he could find, and then drove to the desert to launch it.
The rocket exploded on the launch pad, sending him flying. Luckily, he landed in a cactus and was relatively unharmed.
“I’m not giving up,” he said to himself as smoke filled his lungs and tears rolled down from both eyes. His voice was raw with emotion, but it carried enough strength for the other man flying alongside him on this journey: “We’ve got another launch tomorrow at 8am.”
As he crawls away from the wreckage, his limbs intact but his pride and ego bruised, he realizes he lost his car keys.
