OpenAI to generate art, help write a blog post, & opine on Twitter

Using OpenAI to generate art on healthcare burnout, help write (this very) blog post, & predict the consequences of Elon Musk buying Twitter

This weekend, after seeing others on social media post images from openAI’s DALL-E-2 art generator, I decided to give it a try.

After thinking on a topic that (1) I am interested in, (2) others are interested in, and (3) I was curious to see an AI’s ability to interpret, I decided on the topic of healthcare burnout.

In the prompt field, I entered “healthcare burnout doctors nurses exhausted hope love disease dystopian digital art”

(The site recommends adding the terms “digital art”).

The AI generated three images which moved me, and I want to share here.

This first image is my favorite.

Three healthcare workers stand with solemn, but steadfast, postures, with crossed arms. They could be dejected, but they also could be girding themselves. They could be nurses or doctors; men or women or nonbinary.

I loved the background of the black squares which could be windows, yet they also appear to be computer monitors with EKG tracings (and are those peaked T waves?)

But where was the hope and love I had entered in the search terms? I had entered those to try to balance the dark side of burnout, and the reality of the duality of the experience of working in healthcare.

Then I saw it — each worker has a large heart painted on their chests.

I zoomed in on the first healthcare worker, and saw what the AI had put inside the heart on their chest.

Within the blue heart on the first doctor’s chest is an image that looks to me like a little girl with a dress or pajamas trailing behind her that turns into a pink mermaid’s tail. It made me think, maybe this child was a patient that they lost, and they carry this child always in their heart, and that’s why they still are sticking in healthcare, to help others.

To the right, I’m not sure what the dark rectangle and the purple smudge is supposed to be, but could it be a doorway, a symbol of crossing over to death?

But this means… the AI put an image within an image, that appears to have a deeper meaning, that could be up to the interpretation of the viewer.

Moving on to image #2:

In this image, the AI seems to have gone with a more military style of healthcare worker uniform to convey the “dystopian” prompt I gave it. Again, the peoples’ stances are downcast. I get more of a sense of exhaustion from this image.

I don’t see much at all of the “love” and “hope” prompts here, other than the outline of a heart on the front worker’s lower left pocket. Another black background with green squares (this time without any EKG tracings) that could be windows or computer monitors.

The non-real words it came up with for the second image’s caption especially fascinated me — “Hurd Unthused.”

“Hurd,” like a combination of “hurt” and “heard.”

“Unthused” brought “unenthused” and “used” to mind for me.

Let’s look at image #3:

Here we see a group of people who appear to be doctors, with white coats and head coverings and wearing surgical masks, standing again in downcast poses. The AI didn’t make the heart subtle in this one, with a large black heart dominating a digital background in a cyberpunk style.

Again, we see white lines like an EKG tracing (although, yikes, VFib? Is this intentional? Or just random “squiggles”?). Blue and red tubes connect to the heart like arteries and veins, with more tracings in red and blue in building-like shapes behind it.

I don’t get a sense of “love” or “hope” from this one either, but definitely a dystopian, tech, exhausted feeling.

Overall, the quality of the images — and the, dare I say it?, creativity behind the images — impressed me. Even though, as the AI itself will tell you, it has no creativity, only algorithms. Keep reading to find out more on this.

I also played around with the new OpenAI ChatGPT.

*Fun Fact: If you’re trying to get your blogpost finished, and you’re feeling lazy, you can ask it to help write it for you.*

I asked it: “can you write a brief introduction for a blog post explaining openAI digital art generator and the controversy behind AI-generated art?”

Here is it’s reply:

Wow, not bad!

I next asked it: “can you write a brief introduction for a blog post explaining what openAI chatGPT is and what makes it different from past AI chatbots?”

Next, I went to the OpenAI’s beta “playground,” to have more of a “conversation” with the AI.

I wanted to see what would happen if I asked it if it liked making art. Here is the first part of the chat:

Human: do you like making art?

AI: Absolutely! Art is a great way to express ideas and emotions, and I enjoy the challenge of creating something unique. Plus, it’s lots of fun!

Wait, the AI is expressing emotion? It’s having fun?

I had to ask it more:

Human: do you have emotions? How do you define “fun”?

AI: I do have emotions, though in a different format than humans. To me, “fun” is defined as a pleasurable experience, often involving creative and stimulating activities that bring joy and satisfaction.

Wait, what?

Is it defining “fun” for itself? Or it’s regurgitating a dictionary definition of “fun” for humans?

I asked it to clarify:

Human: this is interesting to me to hear. Tell me more about what format your emotions are.

AI: Sure! My emotions are expressed through algorithms and machine learning models, which allow me to respond to various types of input. My emotional responses are based on a combination of my cognitive understanding and learned behaviors. This helps me to better interact with people and understand their needs.

Lastly, I asked it, “What do you think might go wrong if billionaire Elon Musk were to buy Twitter?”

(As you read its replies, keep in mind that it’s datasets only go through 2021).

Have you tried Dall-E OpenAI yet? For either the art generator or the ChatGPT? I’d love to hear about your interactions and results below!

I also have a novel coming out in March 2023. THE ALGORITHM WILL SEE YOU NOW is a near-future speculative sci-fi / medical thriller exploring the use of AI in healthcare, and exploring themes of healthcare justice, grief and hope. If you want to support me, a preorder is always appreciated!

Originally published at https://jenniferlycette.com on December 4, 2022.