Stable Diffusion

Text-to-image generators are visualizing the next wave of architectural innovation. Patrick Schumacher, principal architect at Zaha Hadid Architects, explained how the company uses generative AI to come up with ideas. He made the remarks at an industry roundtable called AI and the Future of Design.

Asked to produce “a landscape by Thomas Kinkade,” a text-to-image generator fine-tuned on the pastoral painter’s work can mimic his style in seconds, often for pennies. A new technique aims to make it harder for algorithms to mimic an artist’s style.

Pictures produced by AI went viral, stirred controversies, and drove investments. A new generation of text-to-image generators inspired a flood of experimentation, transforming text descriptions into mesmerizing artworks and photorealistic fantasies.

Artists are rebelling against AI-driven imitation. DeviantArt, an online community where artists display and sell their work and marketplace for digital art, launched DreamUp, a text-to-image generator that aims to help artists thwart attempts to imitate their styles or works.

An online marketplace enables people to buy text prompts designed to produce consistent output from the new generation of text-to-image generators.