Top 5 Generative AI apps you should know
…And the rise of Prompt Engineering. Yup, that’s a thing now.
Before jumping in, let’s read the following:
Today we take it for granted that many people know how to read and write. Someday, I hope, it will be just as common that people know how to write code, specifically for AI.
Several hundred years ago, society didn’t view language literacy as a necessary skill. A small number of people learned to read and write, and everyone else let them do the reading and writing. It took centuries for literacy to spread, and now society is far richer for it.
Words enable deep human-to-human communication. Code is the deepest form of human-to-machine communication. As machines become more central to daily life, that communication becomes ever more important.
— Andrew Ng, Founder of DeepLearning.AI, Founder & CEO of Landing AI, General Partner at AI Fund, Chairman and Co-Founder of Coursera and an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University’s Computer Science Department.
One form of human-to-machine communication that has gained popularity in recent months is Generative AI. Creating such a model requires considerable computational effort. However, making use of it is as simple as searching things on Google. And just like googling is an underrated skill, creating content using Generative AI has its tricks.
But, what is Generative AI?
What is Generative AI?
Generative AI refers to a category of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that generate new outputs based on the data they have been trained on. Unlike traditional AI systems that are designed to recognize patterns and make predictions, Generative AI creates new content in the form of images, text (including programming code), audio, and more.
The acronym GPT stands for Generative Pre-training Transformer, which means that it is based on the so-called transformers, which is a type of deep learning architecture that has proven to be effective in natural language processing.
Generative AI has a wide range of applications, including:
- Images: Generative AI can create new images based on existing ones, such as creating a new portrait based on a person’s face or a new landscape based on existing scenery.
- Text: Generative AI can be used to write news articles, poetry, and even scripts. It can also be used to translate text from one language to another.
- Audio: Generative AI can generate new music tracks, sound effects, and even voice acting.
Fascinating, isn’t it?
Steps to use a Generative AI
1. You are presented with a prompt where you indicate what you want to obtain.
… And that’s all.
Obviously, there was considerable science and engineering work behind the scenes. The people involved worked for years to give you a ready-to-use product. Today, surely they are hanging out in their luxurious houses drinking wine or, even better, a Pisco Sour.
Here I learned by watching others do their prompts. What I highlight is the use of aspect ratio, 16K and HDR.
Top 5 Generative AI apps you should know
This is a list of the most popular apps that make use of Generative AI:
1. ChatGPT
ChatGPT by Open AI is an online artificial intelligence chatbot created by OpenAI in December 2022. You can ask it a question, and it will answer that question.
Think about Peter Answers but this one is not a trick!
Visit ChatGPT
2. Lensa
The Lensa app by Prisma Labs uses artificial intelligence to transform your selfies into customized portraits, allowing users to be whoever they choose to be.
An emperor, a knight, a rock star, a superhero… Lensa has different styles you can apply to your photos.
Visit Lensa
3. DALLE 2
DALL·E 2 by Open AI is a new AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language.
Visit DALLE 2
4. Copy.ai
Copy.ai is an AI-powered copywriter that generates high-quality copy for your business. The platform has many different tools available for all kinds of copywriting needs. This covers everything from long-form blog articles to tone rephrasing tools, sales copy generators, and more.
Visit Copy.ai
5. Midjourney
Midjourney is an AI based art generator that has been created to explore new mediums of thought. Midjourney has an interactive bot on its Discord server, which processes what you describe using text.
Visit Midjourney
Without a doubt, Generative AI is here to stay. Some experts say that it could replace several professionals like copywriters, artists, designers and — start shaking — programmers. Personally, I think that instead of replacing, Generative AI is there to help these people to give a boost to their productivity. I tell you why:
- The texts generated by ChatGPT still need double check. They should not be taken blindly as ground truth.
- The generated images are not perfect (or is it that I am too picky?). The other night I spent hours photoshopping the imperfections of the images generated from my photos.
- The generated code… Well, time will tell (are you shaking now?).
The thing is, like it or fear it, learning how to use Generative AI effectively will become a marketable skill. Those are not my words, let me quote it properly:
“Learning how to use Generative AI effectively will become a marketable skill.”
— Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, California, that backs bold entrepreneurs building the future through technology.
Is this perhaps the birth of the “prompt engineer”?
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