Everything You should know about AI-generated Images

We have become accustomed to leveraging intelligent technologies to automate many daily tasks. From scheduling and bookings to information searching and smart home setups, there is an algorithm dedicated to simplifying our lives. But now, we are entering an era where robots are evolving from assistants to artistic digital creators.

AI-powered tools have been programmed to generate creative content, from literature and music to art pieces. With the release of the latest AI image generator tools, machines can create any image conceivable in seconds. This type of creating an image is becoming more and more popular as it can look unique and realistic. Let´s take a closer look at this phenomenon. 

1. What is an AI-generated image?

2. How do AI image generators work?

3. What are the most popular AI image generators?

4. What are the limitations of text-to-image generators?

5. Bias in text-to image-generation.

6. Is AI image generation a future of creative content? Will AI replace artists in the future?

7. Who owns the Copyright of AI-generated images?

1. What is an AI-generated image?

There are several possible applications for AI photos. On the one hand, one can use AI-generated images to improve his own photos. This is done using an algorithm that analyzes the picture and then enhances it. For example, red eye correction and improvement of sharpness and contrast can be automated.

AI image generators can also create completely new pictures. For this purpose, a generator is used that creates new images from various elements. AI-generated image refers to a digital image created by artificial intelligence algorithms instead of a human artist. These images can be created in multiple ways, including using machine learning algorithms trained on existing images or using generative models that can create new images based on a set of inputs. AI algorithms memorize the visual structure, style and text captions of many images. Then, having received a text hint, it can generate a new image. For example, new artworks can be created, or unusual perspectives of an existing image can be developed.

That means AI-generated images can range from highly realistic to highly abstract and can also convey a specific theme or message. They can be used for various purposes, such as creating original works of art, enhancing existing images, or even generating fake images for nefarious purposes.

2. How do AI image generators work?

AI image generators use two neural networks. The first neural network creates the image, and the second evaluates how accurate it is compared to a real image. based on real examples from the Internet. Once the image accuracy assessment is complete, the data is sent back to the original artificial intelligence system. The system learns from the feedback and sends back modified images for further evaluation until the AI-generated picture matches the reference/template image. Yes, it sounds a bit confusing, we know.

Simply put, AI image generators can create original, realistic images from natural language text. They can combine styles, concepts, and attributes to create highly artistic and relevant images based on a written prompt. The prompt is a textual description that the user enters into the machine to create an image. By analyzing images available on the Internet and their written descriptions, AI image generators learn what objects are and how they are related to each other.

For example, last year Cosmopolitan magazine released a cover, on which there is no trace of human intervention either behind or in front of the camera. Using the innovative new AI-powered image generator DALL-E 2, the Cosmo team entered specific data to get the cover image they wanted: "Wide-angle shot from below of a female astronaut with an athletic female body striding across Mars in an infinite universe, synthesizer waves, digital art" was the final prompt that generated the image, now used as the official cover.

The reason you hear about artificial intelligence art is because of the ability to create images from ideas that no one has ever expressed before. If you search for an absurd term on Google e.g. "koala made of cheese," you won't find anything on Google, but an AI image generator will manage to create an appropriate image.

Algorithms detect patterns in images and captions and can eventually begin to predict which captions and pictures go together. Once the model can predict what the image "should" look like based on the signature, the next step is the reverse process - creating entirely new images from the new "captions."

3. What are the most popular AI image generators?

DALL-E 2 

After its predecessor DALL-E, the second version of OpenAI, DALL-E 2, is perhaps the most popular AI image generator. DALL-E 2 is not only capable of generating unique images but can also be used to create design products and illustrations.

No artistic or IT knowledge is required to create a DALL-E 2 image, so professionals and amateurs can successfully create original images thanks to the simple user interface. Most importantly, DALL-E 2 offers a brush tool that lets the user add more details to the image, such as shadows and highlights.

Interestingly, DALL-E 2 is currently not available to the general public. Only a select group of artists, content creators, and AI developers have been granted access to the tool for a certain period. There is even a waiting list for limited access to the tool.

Deep Dream Generator

Google's Deep Dream Generator can create incredibly realistic images using a neural network trained with millions of images. All you have to do is upload a reference image, and Deep Dream will create a new image based on the original.

Deep Dream is more oriented toward formulating artistic images since it uses different painting styles from a specific era (Renaissance, Gothic, Cubism, etc.). Also, you can add a final filter to the image, Thin Style, Deep Style, or Deep Dream, each of which has its style that can change an image.

Anonymizer

Anonymizer is a tool that generates a different image for users who want to protect their identity from facial recognition software. The generator has been trained on thousands of photos and feeds images into generative adversarial networks (GANs) that create new images. The images are created by two neural networks (generator and discriminator) that complement each other to create patterns and check if they look real enough before presenting the final product.

DeepAI 

DeepAI makes AI image generation accessible through its open-source software, which offers many tools to generate realistic results. DeepAI allows users to generate an unlimited number of images, each one unique. The tool's highly customizable functionality enables users to make adjustments in detail, textures, colors, styles, and more. 

DeepAI also allows artists and designers to input an illustration that can be instantly converted into a resolution-independent vector image. 

4. What are the limitations of text-to-image generators?

• AI image generators are not always perfect when it comes to creating a specific desired image. For example, it can be difficult to get good results when you try to create a picture with specific details.
  
  
• AI image generators often rely on pre-trained models and, as a result, are only as good as the data they were trained on. For example, if the AI was only trained on abstract images, it may be difficult to get a photorealistic image.
  
  
• Image generators can sometimes produce results that don't look natural. For instance, getting accurate results for human faces can be challenging.
  
  
• To get the desired results from an AI image generator, you need to know what and how to type into the computer. For this reason, there are websites where you can purchase working prompts, so you don't have to do as many tests.
  
  
• AI results may sometimes show bias, as it is trained on images from the internet.
  
  
  

5. Bias in text-to-image generation

This new technology has been found to produce discriminatory results in some cases. While AI technologies are at the forefront of advanced processes, we still have a long way to go in addressing prejudice in these systems. This is because AI relies on human input and gathers data from the internet, which includes both positive and negative aspects of humanity, potentially leading to biased data. The input field for these AI image generator tools can be filled with any text, and the creators of these tools have not yet focused on preventing the risks of misinformation and polarization, including deep fakes.

Bias in AI-generated images can occur through the data used to train the AI algorithms or the algorithms' design. It is important to address this bias to ensure that the images produced by these algorithms are fair and accurate and to avoid perpetuating harmful stereotypes or biases.

Some companies, like OpenAI, have attempted to reduce biases in their training data, while others, like Stability AI, leave it to the user to decide what content to exclude.

6. Is AI image generation a future of creative content? Will AI replace artists in the future?

Using an AI image generator may require people, such as illustrators, to change the way they approach their job. Instead of spending long periods of time creating an image themselves, they may need to select the best image generated by the machine. 

It is also possible that AI-generated images could substitute for some of the work currently done by photographers in the future. AI algorithms are already being used in a variety of ways to assist with tasks that were previously done by human photographers, such as automatically colorizing black-and-white photos or enhancing the quality of low-resolution images. However, it's unlikely that AI will completely replace photographers in the future.

Many of the skills that photographers bring to their work, such as an eye for composition, an understanding of lighting and color, and the ability to capture emotion and tell a story through images, are difficult to replicate with AI algorithms. As a result, it's more likely that AI will complement the work of photographers, rather than replace them completely.

Taking a clue from the past, it’s clear that photography didn’t ruin painters’ careers, cinema didn’t kill the theater, and TV didn’t abolish radio. Each new technology didn’t take away from its predecessor but instead allowed us a new avenue to express our art.

7. Who owns the Copyright of AI-generated images?

One of the challenges in utilizing AI for image creation is that a substantial number of images used to train AI algorithms are probably copyrighted works created by other artists. That raises questions about whether it is possible to copyright art created using an AI image generator and whether it is appropriate to use copyrighted content to train AI software without proper authorization. Major stock photo agencies like Getty Images and Shutterstock have also recognized this concern. As a result of unresolved copyright matters, major stock photo agencies like Getty Images and Shutterstock have disallowed the submission of AI-generated images to their platforms.

The copyright of AI-generated images can be a complex issue, as the question of who owns the rights to an image created by a machine is only sometimes clear. In some cases, the person who created the AI algorithm or trained the machine may own the rights to the resulting images. In other cases, the rights may belong to the person or entity who commissioned the AI to create the images. Ultimately, the specific copyright laws of a given country will determine who owns the rights to AI-generated images. It is vital for anyone involved in the production or utilization of AI-generated images to comprehend the applicable laws and secure the necessary permissions and licenses.

Check out the Fair Licensing Copyright Guide for more information about Image Copyright.

Fair Licensing is the service that helps photographers resolve copyright infringement cases in a fair and friendly way, without involving a lawyer. With this software tool, you are able to contact infringers of their copyright directly and make the infringer an offer to settle the case by purchasing a license from you. This approach enables you to keep a good relationship with your copyright violator and turn them into customers, not legal opponents.

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