The term “AI Art Midjourney” keeps gaining relevance as text-to-image technology continues to push the boundaries of what seems possible.
In the Digital Transformation (DX) context, Artificial Intelligence is key to recasting human perception, taking our imaginative power to another level.
But what can Midjourney AI tools offer? Let’s discuss the revolution that Midjourney's journey (pun intended) is causing among Digital Artists and Designers.
The Evolution of AI Art
The term Artificial Intelligence can be traced back to 1950 when Alan Turing started his paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" with the question, "Can machines think?"
Yet, the 1956 Dartmouth Proposal is credited today with introducing the term 'Artificial Intelligence'.
In the Dartmouth Proposal, John McCarthy organized a group to develop ideas about thinking machines.
The group concluded that all learning aspects could have a description that a machine could simulate, recasting human thought as symbolic systems.
With this ground, visual artists started engaging with these new tech concepts and new computer graphics. A
Artists like Vera Molnár and Manfred Mohr, for example, were among the pioneers of digital art, studying different aesthetic standpoints while relying on science.
More recently, the advent of Generative Antagonistic Networks was vital to allowing the creation of the first art application, Deep Dream, by Alexander Mordvintsev.
In 2015, Mordvintsev took a step further, developing a way to plumb the depths of Neural Networks while participating in several studies on how machines can learn visual concepts.
The first AI artwork auction in 2018 featured a rendered impression belonging to the Paris-based collective Obvious that started at $10K yet ended the auction being sold at the astonishing price of $432,500 (US Dollars).
What is an AI Art Generator?
An Artificial Intelligence Art Generator is a technology that uses Artificial Intelligence algorithms to create or assist in the creation of visual art.
This tech leverages Machine Learning and Deep Learning techniques to analyze and understand various artistic styles, elements, and compositions.
By training on vast amounts of art data, AI art generators can mimic different artistic techniques and produce original artworks or assist artists in their creative process.
AI art generators can be used to create a wide range of visual art, including paintings, drawings, digital art, and even multimedia installations.
What is Midjourney?
Midjourney (MJ) is an AI-powered text-to-image generator with a user-friendly tool that allows users to create beautiful visuals with text prompts.
Plus, AI Midjourney is cloud-based, allowing accessibility from any device. Its automated capacities make it easy to create professional-quality designs.
While it’s not the first nor the only AI system that creates images from text prompts, it has a notorious focus on visual aesthetics.
As told by its CEO, David Holz, when interviewed by The Verge, “the commercial index is less important than the sense of humanity.”
Rather, the focus of this project was to conceive attractive AI-generated art that allowed everyday people to unlock their creative potential.
How does Midjourney work?
Midjourney is no ordinary design tool; the first clue is that you access it through a Discord server. Also, since it relies on interactions with a bot, there's no need for coding to use it.
MJ Artificial Intelligence has a credit system to create AI art and upscale it, whether via aspect ratio or generated images. Before using it, it's worth noting it has different versions that provide different approaches to realistic and detailed outputs.
A great pro of the Midjourney AI software is that it also has public spaces where you can see other users’ processes and outcomes, fostering innovation and collaboration.
Whether via a private conversation or a public channel, a good start is the /imagine command. After writing your prompt, the AI tool Midjourney will provide you with four options for what you described.
With these previews, you can change, modify, or upscale each of them. With an upscaled image, you can also describe specific changes you’d like to make in a future iteration.
While people say that a picture is worth a thousand words, Midjourney thinks otherwise: You can create a masterpiece with a phrase.
AI Art Midjourney Controversy
“I won, and I didn’t break any rules,” was what Jason Allen said when winning an Art Prize in 2022 with an AI-generated image.
As you may know, controversies always surround both Generative AI or Machine Learning themselves and their applications, and art is no exception.
As declared by its CEO, AI Midjourney has three base pillars: design, human infrastructure, and, of course, the AI.
Holz even assured that since the Midjourney AI tool prioritizes humanity over commercial intents, its users are mainly art-related professionals looking to enhance existing work.
The CEO defended AI Midjourney as a way to upgrade creativity as it delivers tangible outcomes when starting to organize ideas and even when having creative block downs.
Another presented argument was that the AI tool Midjourney allows users to choose composition, color, and textures, arguing it requires well-thought prompts.
Reaching a consensus about the uses of AI utility seems impossible, yet Midjourney Artificial Intelligence is still thriving despite the division, and it doesn't seem to stop soon.
Midjourney AI Software and Copyright
At the time of writing this post, there are no regulations in sight for the Midjourney AI software; thus, the idea of some common ground is in everybody's mind.
In this context, Holz acknowledged how Midjourney system design was trained: with thousands if not millions of existing creations under a Generative Adversarial Network.
What's more, he also admitted that he used images without authorization. Yet, his defense was that getting permission for millions of images for training the model was impossible.
As the Midjourney AI software leveraged millions of images from the internet, truth be told, its results are most likely a fusion of many things that already exist.
This characteristic further boosted several disagreers, with several artists considering MJ Artificial Intelligence a direct disrespect for art.
Yet, while we still see the debate on AI-based image generators and, as a consequence, about AI itself, Midjourney's operation remains untouchable.
The Future of AI Art Midjourney
Generators of art are constantly improving through time, and researchers are already working on the next phase of generative visual art.
For example, META published examples of its text-to-video AI, and Google introduced its text-to-image AI DreamFusion.
Yet, AI Art and even how Midjourney system design works also receive their fair share of backlash.
To name one, artists are starting a riot-ish against ArtStation based on the fact that it relies upon the fact that most AIs receive training from already human-made art.
For them, this approach undermines the time and skills needed to create art in the first place. Further, artists receive no attribution when AI platforms make these canvases.
On the other, giants like Netflix are facing criticism worldwide as its Japan offices confessed to using AI for background in its latest anime.
While citing a "labor shortage" as its motive, Netflix’s series The Dog & The Boy made headlines for the wrong reasons.
Nonetheless, artists like Erik Winkowski have already blended AI into their art, taking advantage of the way that they can make shapes with Midjourney, among other tools.
Art Director Jason Sturgill also stated that “artists and designers freaked out when the computer was brought into this world, and now people realize it’s a really helpful tool that has advanced art and design.”
Conclusion
In conclusion, AI follows us everywhere, and MJ Artificial Intelligence is just one of many tools aiming to impact our creative process.
While AI tools are recasting how we interact with information, there’s a debate on how we can establish some common ethical ground to guarantee safety processes moving forward.
What's your take on it? Will AI-generated images continue to expand the boundaries of creativity? Where does all that leave human art?
.webp)