The great fear behind artificial intelligence is that it will somehow end up replacing us entirely. Until recently, I would have said these fears are unfounded but then I stumbled upon the incredible horror that is NVIDIA GauGAN - an AI that can instantly transform any combination of words into a photorealistic image. It’s like Shutterstock on steroids and completely removes the human element from the artistic equation.
That fear was stoked once again the other day when a new project from ad agency 10 Days fell into my inbox. The agency has reimagined ads for 10 iconic brands, from Nespresso to KFC to Wimbledon, entirely using a powerful AI.
Ad Intelligence
The Ad Intelligence project offers a rare glimpse into the potential of AI-driven creative, with some pretty stunning and uniquely terrifying results.
The ads cover a spectrum of visual identities, spanning retro, cinematic, noir, and even cartoon styles. The images often feature familiar shapes, like the plane wing of a British Airways plane, or the signature nugget of KFC chicken; just as often, however, the shapes are unrecognisable computer imaginings which make the images seem surreal and disconcerting, ranging from kitsch colours to Dali-esque nightmares.
Using the AI-driven platform Midjourney, which is currently operating on an invite-only basis using Discord, 10 Days ideated 24 times on each brand, with six prompts. Each piece of artwork was generated using simple, genre-based words, like ‘sci-fi’, ‘noir’ or ‘cinematic’. Incredibly, the entire process took just five minutes to churn out, and due to the ever-changing nature of AI produced artwork, every image is one of a kind.
The implications for the industry could be staggering. While the technology isn’t quite ready to put out a finished, polished ad, the range of visual ideas created could be game-changing. Nevertheless, it’s the speed at which these artworks are created that is most impressive.
Just look at the latest work for Wimbledon when placed side-by-side with the AI’s attempt: one (above) took an agency and artist months to produce; the other (below) took just under 60 seconds.
Will creatives become obsolete?
Jolyon White, Co-founder and Creative Director of 10 Days, said of the project: “It’s staggering what AI can achieve given the right set of prompts and keywords. We’re now able to create 24 layouts in the time it takes our Art Director to take their first sip of coffee." George White, Co-founder and CSO of 10 Days, adds: “AI creativity has a huge future in store. Humans and AI are going to be working hand-in-hand - it's how we harness it that will be exciting. Soon the possibilities will be endless.”
The key takeaway for me there was “humans and AI working hand-in-hand.” This is the ideal and it’s where we might be right now but given the speed at which this technology is progressing, could we soon be living in a society where computers are creating for us and creatives become obsolete?
Currently, the only artists truly terrified of AI should be those who trade exclusively in the decidedly strange and avant-garde. Because there is boat loads of David Lynch horror hidden between the stark shapes, slightly misspelt words and terrifying chicken abominations generated by Midjourney.
But it certainly offers food for thought as far as the not-too-distant future is concerned. Prog rock album artists might be the only ones in danger of becoming obsolete right now but what happens in 10 years when the AI is perfected and the edges are smoothed off? It’s both frightening and fascinating and leads me to believe that the moment an AI is able to write a cohesive paragraph, I should perhaps be looking at another line of work.
