We continue our Month-long content festival with a talk about AI and absurdity.
The genie is out of the bottle when it comes to Artificial Intelligence. AI will change the world! AI will take our jobs! AI will cure cancer!
All those things could eventually be true.
But, starting a couple years ago, when I first started playing around with AI tools, I took a different approach.
How Absurd Can You Get?
Now, is there a method to the madness? Yes: Akin to playing MadLibs, I was trying to spur creativity. And sometimes, I failed spectacularly. In any event, here’s a smattering of some wins and losses from my journey into AI absurdity.
How Absurd Can You Make It?
Here’s a for instance: say you want to encourage people to get a colonoscopy — and you know that the recommendations have changed, suggesting that you get one starting at age 45 — but you can’t really use a picture of a diseased colon to get people to make the appointment.
Enter: The Vintage Colonoscopy Travel Poster!
Well, it was close.
Enough of that, let’s try another topic.
What About The Four-Panel Cartoon?
Sure, you can type that into your favorite machine and maybe it’ll spit back something that makes sense. Like, how bout two dogs discussing the song “Last Resort” by the band Papa Roach?
Maybe a little too dark. Here’s another attempt: A dog named Clyde introducing himself.
Sigh. Not sure which one is Clyde.
What Would Huff Do?
Huff is my friend on X; he has created some really interesting AI art as the technology has advanced. Some of it is a little more political, but a couple of his creations stand out. Like…
Also, he sent me one of his personal favorites: a recreation of Stewie and Brian from Family Guy, posing for a 1970s mall photo.
Round Three: Merger & Acquisition Division
The earliest days of AI imagery left spelling to the imagination.
And, remember when the USFL merged with the XFL and created the UFL? This guy remembers.
What’s The Point?
For me, the point is to sharpen creativity. To think about things in new and different ways.
It’s also a great way to learn the nuances of the various platforms: typing in a prompt, then realizing the prompt wasn’t quite right, then sharpening your focus — “create an image in the style of a 1970s mall photo session” — can lead you down various paths you may not have thought of. And you’ll compare and contrast ChatGPT with Gemini or with Grok or…well, whatever tool you’re using, you will learn its particularities, and THAT will help you think a little better about whatever problem you’re trying to solve.
