Artificial Intelligence is expanding and advancing at such a pace that sometimes we’re just along for the ride.
In other cases, we can shape entirely new imagery, with the help of technology like text-to-image AI. It’s a new technology that companies like Google and Open AI are exploring.
The concept is strikingly simple. You type out a few words of what you want to see, and the AI creates a lifelike image. The results? Accurate, hilarious, weird, and yes, a little scary.
Google’s take is called Imagen, and below are a number of examples of what the computer dreamed up. Again, humans create a simple instruction, like: “A small cactus wearing a straw hat and neon sunglasses in the Sahara desert”, and the computer does the rest.
The novelty of this technology demands to be played with. However, there are a number of reasons why companies like Google aren’t just handing this over to the public.
“Although text-to-image models certainly have fantastic creative potential, they also have a range of troubling applications. Imagine a system that generates pretty much any image you like being used for fake news, hoaxes, or harassment, for example. As Google notes, these systems also encode social biases, and their output is often racist, sexist, or toxic in some other inventive fashion.”
Leave it to us humans to take a technology, and turn it sinister. You can imagine all of the fake news, violent imagery, and exploitative, hurtful stuff that would arise if anyone could create images so easily.
We imagine it will eventually become public use, but perhaps with some safeguards in place.
Technology is changing the way we live and work every day. Advancements in technology made our life easy in many ways and tirelessly continue to do so, with new trends appearing within a blink of an eye.
Everything has changed, from things as widely known as an ultra-fast 5G internet technology, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to cloud computing and robotics, but the changes aren’t slowing down.
This article will discuss some of the most significant technology trends that are already impacting our lives and continue to do so. We will also focus on some of the newest technologies, which will still pick up the pace and strongly affect our lives. If you’re interested in learning more, continue reading below.
Evolution of Mobility
Sometimes leaving the driving and traffic headaches to someone else is just more convenient. This idea helped to create two ridesharing giants known as Uber and Lyft. Those companies have plenty of specific rules and requirements in place, ensuring safe and high-quality services. It’s an excellent and innovative alternative to taxis and long-established private transportation services like unreliable city buses or trains.
Services like Uber and Lyft are constantly evolving and improving. The main advantage over traditional means of transportation is that you can order and track your ride using your mobile phone. In 2016, Lyft customers were presented with the opportunity to learn how to schedule Lyft in advance, so they don’t have to stress out about delays, as since then, they can schedule a Lyft even 24 hours in advance.
Artificial Intelligence
The field of artificial intelligence is vast. In general, it is a combination of computer hardware and software, which can mimic the cognitive functions of the human mind, or in other words, it allows machines to learn from experience and improve their performance accordingly.
Artificial intelligence can be applied to various areas, from self-driving cars to healthcare and video games, with the most common uses being virtual assistants and machine learning systems. It has become part of day-to-day life as the advancements of Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri result directly from artificial intelligence.
However, practitioners often encounter significant machine learning challenges, such as data quality and quantity issues and the limitations of deep learning models, which require careful planning and engineering to overcome.
Blockchain Technology
Blockchain technology is one of the newest technologies based on cryptography. It’s a decentralized network of computers that records information, making it transparent and safe. The main advantage is that blockchain technology is globally accessible and transparent, as everyone has access to its ledger.
Blockchain is a technology that makes all transactions transparent and safe, as the information is being encrypted and distributed across a network of computers. This technology has many different applications, as it can be applied to various fields, from finances to healthcare. In business, blockchain technology can be used to document supply chains or create smart contracts.
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing refers to working on data stored on servers rather than locally on computers. It’s a great way to expand computing capabilities, as you can work with data from anywhere. Cloud computing also allows for better collaboration between individuals or organizations, as cloud infrastructure is easily accessible over the internet.
This flexibility has also enabled businesses to adopt remote support solutions, including virtual legal assistant services, which allow legal professionals to handle documentation, client communication, and case management efficiently from any location.
It is used mainly in business to help perform complex calculations or store vast amounts of data. Cloud computing is also used in healthcare, where it can be used for storing patient records, as well as in the field of education, where it can be used to share teaching materials and cooperate on school projects.
Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality
With augmented reality being frequently used for various purposes ranging from machinery control and training tools to immersive GPS systems, this technology has proven highly beneficial for big and small businesses. It is an excellent way for businesses of all sizes to give their products or services a unique flair by allowing potential clients to see them in action before they’re even produced or sold.
Virtual reality was initially used for gaming purposes, but nowadays, it can be successfully applied in various fields such as marketing & advertising by offering unique experiences that can be enjoyed only by using VR headsets instead of simply reading about them or seeing them on TV screens or computers screens. Technological advancements have paved the way for virtual reality technology to become widely available at affordable prices while offering a wide range of applications for everyday use.
5G Internet Technology
5G internet is the fifth generation of wireless mobile communication technology, which is still being developed. It is expected to be faster than 4G LTE technology but be compatible with it. The currently available systems show that 5G will provide even greater speeds and lower latency, making it a much better option than the existing ones.
This will enable many new applications which were not possible before and refine existing ones, from self-driving cars to virtual reality. On top of that, it will make IoT devices and sensors more affordable and pave the way for smart cities to become a reality.
Robotics
Robotics have been around for decades. They’ve been used to assist humans in performing a wide range of tasks, from household chores to dangerous tasks in space exploration. They play an essential role in healthcare as they perform complex surgeries and other medical procedures with great precision. Needless to say, they are constantly developing, and the future is looking bright for robots.
There are already a few prototypes that can serve as a proof of concept for the future of robots, such as a robot that can handle and deliver food and drink or do any of our chores around the house. However, the actual area of development lies in the field of artificial intelligence. A few years ago, we saw a few robots that could learn new skills, but now we’re witnessing an increase in the capabilities of AI-enabled robots. This is where we can expect to see some of the most significant changes in the next future.
Conclusion
We live in exciting times, and the future is looking bright, especially regarding technology. It is constantly evolving and improving, so there is no reason why we should not expect to enjoy even better solutions in the next few years. Those are just some of the most important technology trends already impacting our lives, but they are not the only ones.
As mentioned above, the most significant areas for development are artificial intelligence, augmented reality & virtual reality, and 5G internet technology. But there is still plenty of room for other advancements, so watch out for them and be prepared to enjoy even better solutions in the future.
Nathan Shipley is using artificial intelligence to bring historical figures to life, in ways we’ve never seen before. Most of these figures lived far before the advent of photography, so there are no photographic records of them, only paintings and drawings. His clever use of AI is making these figures photorealistic for the first time. And in doing so, he’s breathing unique life into them.
We caught up with Shipley to discuss his latest work, which builds on years of research using GAN, or Generative adversarial networks. It’s a growing field of study, and one that will surely impact our lives in the coming years.
Marie Antoinette
Shipley explains some of his education and process for this unique work:
“I definitely can’t claim full credit for this process – it is built on code that researchers have generously released. However, I have done my own modifications to that code and am building a custom library of face attributes that I can use to direct the output. My favorite part of these kinds of processes is learning how they work, how to use them, and then how to break them or use them for techniques not originally imagined!”
It’s still somewhat surreal to see William Shakespeare or Marie Antoinette as a photorealistic person, and we’re struck by how accurate the models seem to be.
Marie Antoinette
We’re familiar with the notion of ‘deep fakes’, or image creation that is used with the intent of manipulating or tricking a system, but Shipley has utilized this technology on historical paintings, bringing almost an archeological perspective to the science.
“StyleGAN is a kind of machine learning architecture that can be used to “learn” how to create more of a particular kind of image that you show it. For example, if you show it a dataset of images of cats, it will learn to create new images of cats that aren’t direct copies of the input. Properly trained, it can make cats that don’t exist!
I come from a VFX and animation background, so it’s been fascinating to see how images can be created that would previously have been impossible. It’s pretty technical but a really fascinating area to explore!”
William Shakespeare
Shipley is quick to say these visual experiments aren’t saying “this is what William Shakespeare looked like”
“I consider these recreations to be experiments that I am sharing publicly. The AI doesn’t “know” what Shakespeare really looked like, but it’s fascinating to see how this particular combination of variables can come together to give us a glimpse!”
Check out more of his impressive work with StyleGAN below, and be sure to follow Nathan Shipley’s fascinating work on his website and Instagram.
