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.
Death Toll Rises in Indonesia; Tsunami has Claimed Close to 1,350 Lives
The citizens of Palu are still dealing with the aftermath of Friday's earthquake.
On Friday, the city of Palu was overcome by a 20-foot tsunami after a 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit near Sulawesi.
The island is the 11th largest in the Indonesian archipelago, and Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi province, is home to 300,000 people and considered an emerging tourist destination. Five days after the initial catastrophe, widespread destruction and dwindling resources create a climate of fear and desperation, and damage to roads and infrastructure have made it difficult for resources to reach critically affected areas, leaving people to live in makeshift tents and loot stores for food and water.
Efforts to find survivors among demolished buildings and rubble has been slow work, with most rescue teams working by hand. On Sunday, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesperson for the disaster agency (BNBP), said they pulled 13 bodies and two survivors from the wreckage of malls and hotels. One hotel had an estimated 50 people trapped inside as of Monday morning.
ABC now in Palu - at one of the worst disaster sites - a 7 storey hotel that collapsed in the earthquake. 30-40 people still inside, voices were still calling for help this morning @abcnewspic.twitter.com/2tE4vSEYhL
— Anne Barker (@AnneABarker) October 1, 2018
Some lives ended horrifically when they were buried in mud in a phenomenon known as liquefaction. When soil is loose, waterlogged, and shaken violently (as it does during a strong earthquake), it can become unstable and sink unevenly, losing its ability to support structures such as houses and bridge foundations. Several thousand homes were lost in the region as the ground underneath them gave way. As of right now, more than 61,000 have fled their homes and are trying to escape a city plagued by bandits and "armed thugs."
BBC reporters in the area observed police guarding shops, with locals pressing for entry. Officers sprayed tear gas and fired shots in the air to disperse crowds. Stones were thrown at officers as tensions rose. Eventually, the authorities relented and allowed entry as people excitedly grabbed bags of food and drink.
Adek Berry/Agence France-Presse
On Monday, thousands of people wanting to escape the city flocked to the airport runway, breaking down fences and hugging the wheels of military planes attempting take-off. "We have not eaten for three days!" one woman yelled. "We just want to be safe!"
While there were plans to install a warning system after the severe 2004 tsunami, these plans were stalled due to intergovernmental disagreements. The little warning that citizens of Palu were supposed to get, a series of government-sponsored text messages, never went out because of earthquake interference. Because of this, many Indonesians feel that their government has failed them, both in the preparatory stages and in their dealing with the aftermath of the disaster.
In response to the devastation, humanitarian aid is now reaching the city in guarded convoys. More than 18 countries, including the United States and Australia, have pledged to help. President Trump told reporters on Monday that he dispatched first responders and the military to help with the "really bad, bad situation."
No significant foreign military aid has yet arrived in the region.
Joshua Smalley is a New York-based writer, editor, and playwright. Find Josh at his website and on Twitter: @smalleywrites.
- Indonesian Tsunami: Could It Happen in the U.S.? - The Atlantic ›
- Indonesia tsunami: why the waves were so deadly - Vox ›
- Indonesia tsunami: Death toll rises to nearly 1,350 - BBC News ›
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- What Went Wrong With Indonesia's Tsunami Early Warning System ... ›