AI in Art: Highlights
Feature Story: From Media Piracy to Generative AI Art
LimeWire, once known as one of the most popular hubs for media piracy, is refocusing on AI art generation by acquiring BlueWillow, a popular AI art generator known for accessible technology. BlueWillow stands out amongst the competition for aggregating multiple AI models and maintaining an active Discord community. LimeWire plans to integrate BlueWillow into LimeWire Studio while retaining its Discord presence, allowing creators to monetize their content. This move signals LimeWire’s shift away from NFTs (due to return on investment), towards a wider user base. Although the acquisition price and the impact on BlueWillow’s pricing and software remain undisclosed and uncertain, respectively. Perhaps most notably, BlueWillow’s team won’t be joining LimeWire, and the user and software impacts of this revelation remain in question.
AI Art Goes Viral: Pushing the Mould & Changing the Status Quo
AI has been making waves in image generation lately, and typographical optical illusions are a recent captivating application. Stable Diffusion users have been sharing images on Twitter that initially appear as regular scenes but reveal hidden words and messages upon closer examination.
Similarly, AI-generated spiral art made a viral splash as Reddit user “Ugleh” showcased a medieval spiral village created using Stable Diffusion and ControlNet AI technologies. This geometric masterpiece earned eight million views and sparked a trend, drawing praise from AI artist Kali Yuga, Beeple, and Jack Butcher. Despite skepticism, this unconventional art form fascinated viewers. This trend reflects AI’s evolving role in art, shifting from skepticism to appreciation, reshaping creative boundaries amid ongoing questions about copyright and authenticity in AI-human collaborations.
AI Art-Tech Spotlight: MS Paint
Microsoft is considering adding an AI art generator feature, called Cocreator, to its Paint app, potentially powered by OpenAI’s DALL-E AI image generator, akin to its Bing Image Creator service. The Paint app for Windows 10 and 11 has been receiving various updates in the Insider channel, including dark mode, center canvas support, background removal, and transparency support, suggesting a focus on enhancing core apps for Windows users. More details on these potential AI features may emerge during Microsoft’s upcoming press event, so stay tuned for more details!
