When does the Pre-Sora Era End
Everything's changed by a tool that's not yet released
Future of AI Video
While every single pundit had an opinion last week about how OpenAI’s Sora was going to transform society as we know it, the folks over at Vox now have a more nuanced view. They point out that their was lot’s of doomsaying at the beginning of AI image generation with Dalle-2 and Midjourney and not much of that has come to pass. Check it out
In the time between DALL-E 2 and Sora, AI image generation has gone from a party trick to a massive industry. Many of the things DALL-E 2 couldn’t do, DALL-E 3 could. And if DALL-E 3 couldn’t, a competitor often could. That’s a perspective that’s crucial to keep in mind when you read prognosticating on Sora — you’re likely looking at early steps into a major new capability, one that could be used for good or malicious purposes, and while it’s possible to oversell it, it’s also very easy to sell it short.
Or, if you actually work in video, and you want to prepare yourself for the coming tsunami, check out this article from Carol AI, where she has some in depth strategies for how to position yourself.
An Excellent AI Glossary from TechCrunch
Even though I read about these terms every day, I would have a hard time defining them if you put me on the spot. So here’s a resource that you should definitely bookmark and revisit on a regular basis. Need to know the difference between a Large Language Model and a Neural Network so that you can impress your boss? Or just need to know who the major players are? Check it out
Navigating the AI Skills Future
Are you concerned that your current skillset might soon be obsolete? Are you trying to come up with a plan to stay relevant and employed? Without picking specific career paths for you, Greg Rog has an excellent article about what he calls the ‘M-shaped’ skillset. Check it out
The foundation of what we should consider as competencies of the future is a set of skills: firstly, adaptation and curiosity to discover new technologies and work with AI. Secondly, holistic knowledge, going beyond narrow specialization, but rather shaped in an “M-shaped” way, i.e., with the acquisition of specialist knowledge from various intersecting fields. In addition, accepting the fact that we do not need to know how something works underneath (basic competencies), but rather have an awareness of frames and schemes — limitations within which we operate. Finally, the ability to assess the truth, relevance, and search for reliable and necessary information, as well as conversation with the AI model — something we can safely bet on as key competencies in the coming years.
Generative AI is Not Sustainable
As I spend more time learning about the AI industry, I find myself moving from enthusiastic booster to reluctant curmudgeon. Personally, I feel that all this progress is bad for the planet and needs to be regulated, but I lack the vocabulary to define what that is. If you have similar concerns and would like to read the words of people who are way smarter than me, you should check out this article from Kate Crawford of Nature or this article from Dave Berreby from Undark. Be forewarned, neither will help you sleep at night.
Midjourney Beginners: Explore 32 Art Styles
When I first started writing this newsletter, I used to post articles like this frequently. I haven’t posted a prompt guide in a while, but Midjourney had grown in it’s capabilities in recent months, so if you’re new to Midjourney or a new subscriber (Welcome!) here’s a great resource to get started. Check it out
Alpaca Chroma: Free Instant Image Generator
There are several tools that do this now; Krea.ai, Leonardo.ai, and Stable Diffusion all have a feature that turns your rough sketch into an AI image in seconds. Alpaca is a Photoshop plugin that I’ve written about before that, well, allows you to do this in Photoshop. However, they now have a web based tool that can do it too. It’s not quite good enough for finished work, but it’s great for rapid idea generation. Check out my 30 second example below. Alpaca ML
Getting Started with Google’s Notebook LM
If you’re an academic researcher, you’re going to love Google Notebook LM. I’m going to start a major research project this summer and this article (along with an excellent video from Tiago Forte), was really helpful in getting organized. The author, Steven Johnson, is the involved with the team building this product for Google. Check it out
Not AI: Figma to Webflow Plugin
Not exactly AI related, but required viewing for my current students, and it seems like such a time saver it may as well be magic. If your job has a Figma to Webflow process and/or you’re not up to date on the concept of ‘variables’ in both tools, this is going to be a real game-changer and I highly recommend you get familiar with it. Read about it
That’s it for today. While I originally started this newsletter for my students, I’ve had a wave of new subscribers lately. So welcome and thank you for supporting my work. I’m a professor of graphic design at Seattle Central Creative Academy. I’m interested in Large Language Models, Generative AI, and the tools that are transforming our profession. Feel free to send me a message, a question, or a suggestion.