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Have you ever wanted to know what you would have looked like in your yearbook photo in college?

I know it’s a strange question to ask, but apparently this is one of the most popular trends among influencers. Scrolling through Instagram over the past few weeks, I’ve come across these funny representations of people in hypothetical different scenarios of their yearbook in college. A cheerleader, a football player, a fashionista: these and others are all versions you can choose to become.

But how is this possible? With a generative artificial intelligence tool called EPIK, of course. It is nothing new to see people in circumstances created by artificial intelligence – just think of the viral photo of the Pope wearing a Balenciaga coat – but this trend seems to be getting a lot of attention. The EPIK app is one of many mobile apps that combine the generative capacities of artificial intelligence with traditional editing instruments to allow users to manipulate their photos or appearances in a way that has never been done before. A new feature of the app is a tool called an AI Yearbook, which allows users to instantly produce photos from their hypothetical college’s yearbook.

And don’t worry: using this artificial intelligence tool is not complicated at all! The tool is available for both iOS and Android, so after downloading the app, simply select the ‘AI Yearbook’ option. Then, you can upload around ten selfies, making sure they are clear and with good lighting, with no objects in front of your face (extreme close ups or full body photos with poorly lit faces may not produce the desired effects). After selecting the genre, you can choose a payment option; an inapplicable purchase price on the app store indicates that AI yearbook photo packages can cost up to $9.99. At this point you can select ‘Create yearbook images’ and continue editing them with frames or filters and then process all.

So, what do you think about it? Are you curious to try this application? Would you ever pay for this kind of service?

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Nowadays, we are witnessing the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence, which is constantly bringing innovation to industries and making waves in a wide range of fields. Among them, photography and art are areas that are experiencing a creative renaissance thanks to AI. This involves not only the artists themselves but also individuals wanting to use their creativity and experiment with generative AI tools.

Speaking of my own experience, I recently had the opportunity to explore the field of generative AI during my academic career at university. In particular, I worked with Midjourney, a generative AI tool capable of converting natural language into images, during a marketing communication course.

The assignment consisted of developing a marketing strategy for a company accompanied by compelling storytelling for an advertisement campaign. To create an enthralling narrative, our professor advised us to create a storyboard sketch or research images that would best support our vision and help visualize our ideas clearly. However, the challenge we faced was to find or create the perfect images to describe the specific scenario we were thinking about. It was at this precise instant that Midjourney entered the scene, opening up a world of artistic possibilities. In fact, thanks to this tool, we were able to translate the images we were envisioning in our minds into something concrete, or rather Midjourney was able to do this. The name of the tool already makes it clear that the image representing the perfect scenery we are looking for is able to come to life during a journey, allowing us to easily create a link between our imagination and reality. The result was a successful piece of work that left the professor speechless.

However, while experimenting with Midjourney I could not help but think of the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence in the creative process. Indeed, I realized that although this tool was incredibly useful for a group of students like us or hypothetical marketers, it also raised concerns about the future of artistic expression and human creativity.  The way AI can easily generate stunning graphics challenges the work of human as creators and make me reflect on the evolving dynamics between technology and artistic expression.

In conclusion, my experience with generative AI, and particularly with Midjounrey, has made me discover a world of opportunities. Playing with the tool allowed me to let my imagination reach unprecedented levels. Moreover, it made me realize how AI can revolutionize the way we approach marketing communication and storytelling. However, it also made me reflect on the importance of harmonious coexistence between human creativity and the potential of AI, so as not to aggressively disrupt sectors such as photography and art, which have existed for two decades.

Sources:

Surzayon Gosh, ‘The Art of Blending Photography and Generative AI: An Exploration’, Medium, Feb 25, https://medium.com/the-arttech-future/the-art-of-blending-photography-and-generative-ai-an-exploration-e67c9abcc7ea

Jessen Anglen, ‘AI Gets Creative: How AI Is Changing Photography and Visual Arts’, LinkedIn, 12 sep 2023, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ai-gets-creative-how-changing-photography-visual-arts-jesse-anglen?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_more-articles_related-content-card