Remember when AI art first hit and everyone lost their minds? I was one of the doubters at first.

Back in 2022 a buddy showed me a picture he made with Midjourney. I thought it was just a gimmick because the hands looked all melted and weird. Fast forward to last month and I saw a generated landscape that had this perfect light hitting some foggy trees. That moment made me realize the tech actually grew up and I couldn't tell it apart from a photo someone took in the woods. Anyone else go from hating on it to quietly using it themselves?

2 comments

2 Comments

wrenstone18d ago

Oh come on, you really think that foggy trees picture wasn't doctored or cherry picked from a hundred bad ones? I still see generated images with that weird plastic sheen and stuff that just doesn't make sense if you look close. The tech might be better but it still misses the soul of a real photo, the happy accidents and the human eye for composition. Has anyone actually tried using it for something serious and not just a wallpaper?

lewis.diana17d ago

Oh, I tried using it for something serious, all right. Wanted a quick headshot for my LinkedIn after my nephew said my old one made me look like a hostage in a 1990s office. The AI gave me a perfectly lit, smooth-skinned person who had six fingers on one hand and tie that just sort of melted into my shoulder. Real professional. So no, I'm not buying that foggy trees picture was anything but a lucky roll of the digital dice, probably from a batch where the other 99 looked like alien landscapes. The tech is great at making pretty pictures for your phone wallpaper, but ask it to do a family portrait and suddenly grandpa has three ears and a dreamy, out-of-focus smile.