Dall-E Mini, the AI-powered text-to-image generator has taken over the internet. With its ability to render nearly anything your meme-loving heart desires, anyone can make their dreams come true.
DALL-E 2, a portmanteau of Salvador Dali, the surrealist and Wall-E, the Pixar robot, was created by OpenAI and is not widely available; it creates far cleaner imagery and was recently used to launch Cosmpolitan’s first AI-generated cover. The art world has been one of the first industries to truly embrace AI.
The open-sourced miniature version is what’s responsible for the memes. Programmer Boris Dayma wants to make AI more accessible; he built the Dall-E Mini program as part of a competition held by Google and an AI community called Hugging Face.
And with great technology, comes great memes. Typing a short phrase into Dall-E Mini will manifest 9 different amalgamations, theoretically shaping into reality the strange images you’ve conjured. Its popularity leads to too much traffic, often resulting in an error that can be fixed by refreshing the page or trying again later.
If you want to be a part of the creation of AI-powered engines, it all starts with code. CodeAcademy explains that Dall-E Mini is a seq2seq model, “typically used in natural language processing (NLP) for things like translation and conversational modeling.” CodeAcademy’s Text Generation course will teach you how to utilize seq2seq, but they also offer opportunities to learn 14+ coding languages at your own pace.
You can choose the Machine Learning Specialist career path if you want to become a Data Scientist who develops these types of programs, but you can also choose courses by language, subject (what is cybersecurity?) or even skill - build a website with HTML, CSS, and more.
CodeAcademy offers many classes for free as well as a free trial; it’s an invaluable resource for giving people of all experience levels the fundamentals they need to build the world they want to see.
As for Dall-E Mini, while some have opted to create beauty, most have opted for memes. Here are some of the internet’s favorites:
pic.twitter.com/DbLoe1s00c
— Weird Dall-E Mini Generations (@weirddalle) June 8, 2022
pic.twitter.com/cxtliOrlHz
— Weird Dall-E Mini Generations (@weirddalle) June 12, 2022
no fuck every other dall-e image ive made this one is the best yet pic.twitter.com/iuFNm4UTUM
— bri (@takoyamas) June 10, 2022
pic.twitter.com/rEBHoWR7lH
— Weird Dall-E Mini Generations (@weirddalle) June 12, 2022
pic.twitter.com/RSZaCIDVV7
— Chairman George (@superbunnyhop) June 9, 2022
back at it again at the DALL•E mini pic.twitter.com/iPGsaMThBC
— beca. ⚢ (@dorysief) June 9, 2022
There’s no looking back now, not once you’ve seen Pugachu; artificial intelligence is here to stay.
Great Thinkers Who Died Before Their Success
Most people have the same basic plans for life: birth, work, success, death.
But it doesn't always play out in that order. Unfortunately, throughout history, there have been many great thinkers who died before their success could be realized.
Herman Melville (1819–1891)
The New York writer now known across the world for his 1851 magnum opus Moby-Dick had some early success in literature, but he lost the public's attention after the publication of his second book in 1847. He still continued to write, but by 1876, his books were entirely out of print, and Melville had to consider another line of work. Ironically, he earned more money as a customs inspector than he ever did as an author. In the 1920s, renewed interest in Melville, who had been dead for about 30 years, brought closer attention to Moby-Dick, which is now considered one of the best books ever written.
Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)
The brilliant Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh is the poster child of great thinkers who died before their success. He was a member of the artistic community during his life, but his works were rarely recognized outside his circle. He found little success while alive, partially because he battled mental illness and endured several stays in mental hospitals.
When he was 37, van Gogh died from suicide. His brother Theo wanted to elevate his brother's status after his death, but he unfortunately died a few months later as well. Vincent van Gogh's posthumous success is owed to his sister-in-law, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, who carried on her husband Theo's wishes by publishing Vincent's letters and selling his works. His reputation grew throughout the 20th century, and he is now recognized as a master painter.
Rudolf Diesel (1858–1913)
German inventor and engineer Rudolph Diesel initially sought to make a 100 percent efficient engine. His diesel engine actually never surpassed 25 percent efficiency, which was still more than double what had been achieved at any time before. He applied for patents in 1892 and 1893, but he would not see much of his success. Early diesel engines frequently broke down, requiring Diesel to take on debt to keep his business afloat. He would never live to see the diesel engine's widespread automobile adoption several decades later: in September 1913, Diesel was traveling to Belgium across the English Channel when he fell overboard and drowned. Though his death was likely a suicide, some historians still wonder if he was murdered.
Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)
One of the greatest American poets, Emily Dickinson only had 10 poems published while she was alive. However, she was extremely prolific and often shared her work with friends and family. Upon her death in 1886 of heart failure, her sister Lavinia discovered 40 hand-bound volumes of poetry, totaling up to 1,800 poems. The first volume was published in 1890, and the last was published in 1955. Dickinson is now one of the most highly regarded American poets.