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Meta demonstrates an AI system designed to give people more control over their AI art. Systems like this could also be a tool to help build the Metaverse.

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AI-generated images have been making their rounds on the web for years. While a few years ago it was primarily GAN-based systems that generated deceptively real cats or people, today it is multimodal models that allow targeted creations via text input. Users of DALL-E 2, Midjourney and Craiyon (formerly DALL-E mini) are flooding Twitter, Instagram and other channels with AI images.

However, concrete control over these systems is often quite limited: Enter text and wait for images - that's it. With some systems, variants of interesting results can be generated. The creativity of DALL-E can also be directed specifically to individual places in an existing image to change this section. Then, for example, a flamingo appears in what is actually an empty pool.

Meta experiments with text plus sketch

In a new paper, Meta researchers now demonstrate a multimodal AI system that enables more targeted image generation. Users can feed "Make-A-Scene" a sketch and then start the generation process by entering additional text.

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While with other AI systems the results are often difficult to predict, Make-A-Scene allows people to target their ideas more precisely, Meta writes.

Video: Meta

This requires defining the basic scene layout in the sketch. The text input then fills the sketch with AI-generated graphics. The model can also create its own layouts via text input - however, users lose some control in this way.

Meta sees Make-A-Scene as a step toward more targeted AI creation

According to Meta, some artists have been given test access to Make-A-Scene. One of the developers has tested the system with his children, for example, to make monster bears ride on trains. There are no plans to release it for now: For Meta, Make-A-Scene is an experiment in AI creativity that focuses on user control.

A monster robot bear riding a train. | Image: Meta

To harness the potential of AI to foster creative expression, humans must be able to shape and control the content generated by the system, Meta writes. To do that, a suitable system must be intuitive and easy to use - using speech, text, sketches, gestures or even eye movements.

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Thanks to AI support, Meta hopes to create a new class of creative tools that will allow many people to create expressive messages in 2D, XR and virtual worlds.

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Max is managing editor at THE DECODER. As a trained philosopher, he deals with consciousness, AI, and the question of whether machines can really think or just pretend to.
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