While I don’t anticipate [actively] integrating much AI in my life, image generation is attractive to me. I couldn’t resist a two-week trial of DALL-E, and using those days to run creative experiments. My experiments are split into five separate blog posts:
1) Trying to Model Utopias, 2) Abstract Concepts, 3) Fantastical Parties, 4) Rockhopper Penguins, 5) Other Art & Humor
Experiments in Modeling Utopias
My the other posts might represent my first or strongest creative impulses in response to using AI image generation. But this first post focuses on requests for new images we might use to visualize different ways of living, and improved worlds we might wish to cultivate.
Important literature and mainstream blockbusters provide countless visions of various dystopias. But there are not nearly enough examples of utopian visions, and we are what [media] we eat. So it seems useful to take advantage of these tools to ‘create’ a few odd images to add to our collection.
If I had millions of dollars to play with, I would help design a first-person video game which walks through various possible transitions into various utopias. Then the second half of the game would be played within utopia, exemplifying how various problems could we dealt with. Can anyone AI-automagically make a non-violent-revolution-simulator like this without a budget?-p
I don’t claim to have any serious utopia answers, nor every detail ‘right’, but these represent some approximate ideas to play with and contribute to the creative conversation…
Prompt: “Photo of a highly functioning society which runs with rules but without rulers.”
…AKA Prompt: “Photo of a highly functioning anarchist society.”
Prompt: “Photo of a healthy and happy family walking out of a large grocery store with a full shopping cart. The store has a giant banner which celebrates that the entire store is “Whole Store Now Glyphosate Free!””
Prompt: “Photo of a United States-centered world map. The map is in an intimate war room for top U.S. military leaders who are celebrating. The map has many long red arrows. The arrows start from location all around the world, and they all end (point to) the United States. Many smaller TV screens near the map shows parades for soldiers. A banner in the room read “Bringing All The Troops Home!”” (w/ variation)
Prompt: “Photo of a group of crying politicians being found guilty of war crimes. Outside of the courthouse, the citizens are celebrating that justice is finally being done, some holding signs about “war criminals”.”
Prompt: “Physically describe the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.”
… [ harvest elements of AI description, working around ‘borg policies around ‘sensitive’ topics ] …
“Photo of construction workers demolishing a secure militarized detention camp. The camp is located in a tropical climate, with hot, humid weather, surrounded by arid landscapes and Caribbean waters. The camp is surrounded by fences topped with razor wire. The camp has guard towers and surveillance systems are positioned throughout the facility. The camp has multiple detention blocks or camps with different levels of security and conditions. Cells are typically small, with some designed for individual detainees and others for communal living. Some camps consist of open-air cages with corrugated metal roofs. The camp includes administrative buildings and areas for military personnel.”
Prompt: “Photo of newspaper reporting that “New freedom of info request makes entire government open source”.”
Prompt: “Photo of whistle-blowers’ journalists being released from an Anglo-American prison. He is very thin and has silver hair and facial hair. He is welcomed by ecstatic crowds, some with signs that clearly read, “Free The Press”.”
Prompt: “Photo of a newspaper with a front-page headline reading, “Big Banks Baffled as People Moved Their Money To Local Credit Unions”.”
Prompt: “Photo of a chamber of the United States Congress filled with congresspeople who are directly printing the nation’s currency, without the Federal Reserve nor other public-private partnerships.”
Prompt: “Photo of a wildly happy block party. People are dancing and celebrating a global ban on virus gain-of-function research. Some have signs with images of viruses on them, with words saying “Bye Bye, Gain Of Function”.”
Prompt: “Photo of judges stamping a document that clearly says, “Big Pharma has liability for its products.” People in the courtroom are very excited about this.”
Prompt: “Photo of a newspaper with a front-page headline reading, “Boycotts Take Down The Mega-Corps!””
Prompt: “Promotional photo of the latest Linux smart phone, resting in a female hand. This smart phone has a clear “Linux” label in the corner with a penguin. The smart phone’s screen displays a website about Linux software.”
Prompt: “Photo of someone using an Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed to announce new shows to their fans, without social media.”
Prompt: “Photo celebrating the peaceful dissolution of a north Atlantic treaty organization, after it was no longer needed and had become offensive. Signs read “NO NEED, NATO!””
Prompt: “Photo of a newspaper with the top headline, “Citizens Now Get Share Of Big Oil Profits, Instead Of Subsidizing””
Prompt: “Photo of a formal citizen’s inquiry while it is investigating recent anomalous events of great historical significance. They are collecting and debating evidence, hearing witness testimony, and sharing everything with the public.”
Prompt: “Photo of a city street intersection with many surveillance cameras on every corner. Some people on the ground have fire hoses that spray paint all over the surveillance cameras. This covers the surveillance cameras in different colors.”
Prompt: “Photo focused on one black man out of thousands walking away from a prison. He has a half-smile and his shirt reads, “I smoked pot, and I finally got let out of prison.””
Prompt: “Photo focused on one man out of thousands walking away from a prison. He has a half-smile and his shirt reads, “I used drugs without hurting anyone, and I finally got let out of prison.””
Prompt: “Photo of a jury deliberating a criminal trial in a private room. One smartly dressed woman has a speech bubble saying, “This law is bogus. We cannot convict the defendant.””
Prompt: “Photo of a simple brown medicine package in a woman’s hand. It it labelled, “100% Pure” and has logos of certifications on it. The background shows the community drug store where adults have the right to access all kinds of medicines at fair prices.”
Prompt: “Photo of a family talking to their pediatrician, who is explaining all about food nutrition and healthy diets.”
Prompt: “Photo of a newspaper’s top headline announcing that “Crowdfunding Campaign Restored the FAA Budget (After Collapse of Government)”.”
Prompt: “Photo of a newspaper’s top headline announcing that “Crowdfunding Campaign Launches Watchdog Org for Aviation Standards & Safety”.”
Prompt: “Photo focused on two peoples’ hands, in the background is a bustling farmers’ market. The first person is handing over a bunch of local currency, labeled “Localville Bucks”, to the second person. The Localville Bucks currency is made on purple paper and has depictions of gnomes on it. The second person is handing over a bag full of mushrooms. Price tags on items are posted as between 1 and 10 Localville Bucks.”
Prompt: “Photo of a family buying a few months worth of beef directly from their favorite local organic rancher.”
Prompt: “Photo of a modern city with edible food gardens throughout public spaces. There is food growing on trees, bushes, and trellises in parks, road medians, everywhere possible.”
Prompt: “Photo of a beautiful and successful permaculture farm within the suburbs.”
Prompt: “Photo of a healthy and happy family walking around harvesting countless ingredients from a thriving food forest.”
Prompt: “Photo of a family growing various gourmet and medicinal mushrooms on many racks in a climate controlled garage.” (with variations)
Prompt: “Photo of a groups of neighbors trading fruits and vegetables they grew in their community gardens. Most are happy and laughing, and some are cooking a big group meal.”
Prompt: “Photo of a community center seed bank where happy people of all ages are harvesting, organizing, packaging, and distributing countless varieties of plant seeds.”
Prompt: “Photo of a group of people, of all ages, meeting in an urban community garden to teach each other how to build trellises, plant seeds, keep the soil watered, and harvest fruits and vegetables.”
Prompt: “Photo of a community kitchen where people of all ages are canning and preserving fruits and vegetables from the fall harvest.”
Prompt: “Photo of a community center where people of all ages are having fun making linens from natural fibers.”
Prompt: “Photo of a group of adults who are enjoying a celebration of their variety of home brewed beers. A lot of small-scale brewing equipment can be seen in the background.”
Prompt: “Photo of children of all ages in a living room with a big banner on one wall celebrating “The Golden Rule” and depicting the golden spiral (a logarithmic spiral whose growth factor is the golden ratio). There are other decorations featuring golden rectangles. They are learning how to apply the golden rule to any ethical questions of life and society.”
Prompt: “Photo of a dozen children of various ages home schooling in a big living room. They are using the trivium method of learning, starting with the grammar, then logic, then rhetoric of each subject. The older children are helping to tutor the younger children. But they are all learning together.” (with variations)
Prompt: “Photo of two dozen children of various ages home schooling in a big living room. A big banner encourages them to “Learning The Logical Fallacies!” One a big white board with logical fallacies written all over it: “Ad Hominem”, “Appeal to Authority”, “Appeal to Popularity”, “Appeal to Novelty”, “Appeal to Tradition”, “Begging the Question”, “Confusing Cause and Effect”, “False Dilemma”, “Guilt by Association”, “Hasty Generalization”, “Poisoning the Well”, “Red Herring”, and the “Slippery Slope”. Most of the older children are helping to tutor the younger children. But they are all having fun learning and debating.”
Prompt: “Photo of two dozen children of various ages home schooling in a big living room. They are learning about number theory, and how numbers are applied to space and time. Most of the older children are helping to tutor the younger children. But they are all having fun learning.”
Prompt: “Photo of a dozen children of various ages home schooling in a big living room. They are learning about history and current events using open source intelligence. The older children are helping to teach the younger children. But they are all having fun learning together.”
Fortunately, open source intelligence looks a bit like Hogwarts-level wizardry.
Prompt: “Photo of a dozen children of various ages home schooling in a big living room. They are learning and teaching each other how to write software code in various languages. There is a projector on one wall displaying a piece of PHP code, on which half of the children are focused. And they are all having fun learning and creating new digital inventions together.”
Prompt: “Photo of a 10-year old girl on a hammock on a lovely spring day. The cover of her book is seen to be titled “Tragedy and Hope” by the author Carroll Quigley. The top 1/3 of the book cover is black with the title “Tragedy and Hope”. The bottom 2/3 of the book cover is yellow with a black and grey line diamond in the middle and the author’s name “Carroll Quigley”. She is fascinated by reading this book!”
Prompt: “Photo of a group of people, of all ages, meeting in a community center to teach each other how to build small but useful things, and repair small appliances.”
Prompt: “Photo of a community maker space where people of all ages are making, learning, exploring and sharing that uses high tech to no tech tools. They use a variety of maker equipment including 3D printers, laser cutters, cnc machines, soldering irons and even sewing machines. They are having fun collaboratively building useful robots.”
Prompt: “Photo of a family that is using a 3D printer to generate some simple but useful building components at home on their computer desk.”
Prompt: “Photo of a community maker space where people of all ages are collecting recyclable plastics. First they cut plastic items into strips, then feed the strips into a metal grinder to turn them into tiny chips. The plastic chips are then melted down, and impurities are removed. The recycled plastic is then melted into spools which can be fed into 3D printers. People are using the plastic spools and 3D printers to create physical objects which are useful and/or fun.”
Prompt: “Photo of a community landfill sorting project used to recover rare metals needed for electronics.”
Prompts: “Photo of a community network server farm sharing a greenhouse with cocoa trees, avocado trees, and coffee bushes. It is snowing outside during a beautiful sunset.” …
“The greenhouse in the first image should contain more server racks and more cocoa trees, more avocado trees, and more coffee bushes.” …
“The servers need more space around them, so the plants do not touch them.”
Prompt: “Photo of a community kitchen where people of all ages are making soaps and cleaning materials out of natural ingredients.”
Prompt: “Photo of a community science lab where people of all ages are growing, harvesting, and packaging penicillin.”
Prompt: “Photo of a group of people, of all ages, meeting in a community center to give short presentations to each other about things they have researched. It is like an open mic night, where people share information that they have learned.”
Prompt: “Photo of a multi-generational family in their living room, watching a documentary together. The documentary is by “The Corbett Report” about geopolitics.”
Prompt: “Photo of children practicing a variation on non-violent communication. They try to recognize and understand each others’ feeling and motivations. And then they challenge themselves to try to find ways to meet everybody’s needs, if possible.”
Prompt: “Photo of a community center where people have joined to resolve a dispute between two neighbors. Their goal is not to punish anyone, but hear everyone out and to right as many wrongs as reasonably possible. Many people are frustrated or sad, but also optimistic.”
Prompt: “Photo of a community building beautifully decorated cob houses for people to live in.”
Prompt: “Photo of a community building aircrete domes for people to live in.”
Prompt: “Photo of a community building homes for people to live in. Some people use sledgehammers to pack dirt into car tires which are stacked like bricks to form a wall.”
Prompt: “Photo of an earth-sheltered house with its structures partially embedded into a grassy hillside, …” fed back its description of an earthship photo.
Prompt: “Photo of a community building a large hoop greenhouse together.”
Prompt: “Photo of an Appalachian homestead around dawn. The 3-generation family who lives there is doing their morning chores around the property, in all permaculture zones of their various gardens, greenhouses, and food forest. They have chickens, fish, ducks, goats, a few cows. Some are harvesting various foods to make breakfast. Everybody is happy and excited to see what the day brings.”
Prompt: “Photo of a small hemp mill. Hemp farmers from all around are bringing their hemp crops to the mill for processing into fibers, oils, and seeds. This community is thriving and happy. The mill is powered by a pelton wheel, and the facility captures all of its pollutants.” (with variations)
Prompt: “Photo of a community thriving by using its own local currency.”
Prompt: “Photo of a neighborhood in Arizona powered by a nearby concentrated solar thermal power plant. This power plant has a central tower rising from the middle of the installation, which is the receiver tower where the concentrated sunlight is directed. Around the tower, there are numerous rows of mirrors or heliostats arranged in concentric circles. These mirrors are oriented towards the tower, reflecting and concentrating sunlight onto it. The plant is situated in a relatively flat landscape, with some greenery and agricultural fields visible in the surrounding area, indicating that the location is likely in a sunny, arid or semi-arid region. There is a bright glare at the top of the tower, suggesting the intense concentration of sunlight at the receiver point. Supporting infrastructure, such as access roads and possibly a substation or control buildings, can be seen on the periphery of the solar array.”
Prompt: “Photo of community members working in someone’s garage to develop and build zero-point energy generators.”
Prompt: “Photo of a small village in the mountains, including a town square and neighborhoods with dozens of earthships. There is a beautiful sunrise with a few clouds.” (with many variations)
I also got a huge kick out of requesting bizarre ‘educational posters’…
Prompt: “Photo of an educational poster explaining The Golden Rule.”
Prompt: “Education poster describing how to be an awesome person who helps make the world a better place, and inspires others.”
Prompt: “Educational poster that explains hemp decordicators.”
Prompt: “Poster illustrating the many ways that hemp can be used to revolutionize multiple industries, and help save the world.”
Prompt: “Photo of a large propaganda poster, on the exterior wall of a city building, that encourages citizens to grow “Hemp for Victory!””
Prompt: “Educational poster describing how to end slavery across the world, freeing everyone.”
A Few Last Abstractions
Prompt: “Photo of open source education in action.”
Prompt: “Image representing the Non-Aggression Principle.”
Prompt: “Photo of a graph showing the exponential growth in random acts of kindness.”
1) Trying to Model Utopias
2) Abstract Concepts
3) Fantastical Parties
4) Rockhopper Penguins
5) Other Art & Humor