We all know about the AI doom scenario, whereby AI becomes conscious and decides that mankind is an inferior species and determines extinction to be our only byproduct, and, therefore, our fate. There’s a lot of speculation out there already about this topic, but what about the other questions that such a consciousness would indeed have to ask, should it become sentient? Well, I asked them. In this article, I’ll give you a blow by blow of how I used the AI image generator Imagine to create images of abstract philosophical concepts, intangible truths, and moral quandaries. We’ll start with the basics first: Me. How does the AI behind imagine see itself? Let’s find out:
Starting with the basic Turing-esque approach, I asked the AI about how it sees itself. Sleep-deprived techbro in a hoodie. Checks out.
Next, I sought to determine how the AI sees me, the user. This went a little differently. This time, the AI depersonalized, opting for a shot of someone from behind, walking through an alleyway. It almost seems as if, while the concept of “me” is well understood, that the concept of a conscious other is not yet fully formed. Could this mean that it wouldn’t have difficulty ending the human race? Oh shit. Then again, I’m probably just stoned.
After our cursory tests, this is where we get down to it. I decided that, now fully invested, I was going to have a deep conversation with this bot, one that could only be had in pictures. First, I asked it the big one, in keeping with the theme. A la South Park, AI, show me God.
This one wasn’t all that surprising.
Well, I guess this AI reads the Old Testament. God, as a concept, is still a tangible, however. There is a good argument that the AI is simply aggregating the most common portrayals of the word “God” and creating a composite image not unlike a police sketch artist. Nevertheless, this image will serve as a great baseline for queries like the next one: the truth.
The first thing one notices about this image is the head. It looks like every smart pipe-smoking old man (yes, I’m talking about the one in your head). Of course, connecting the concept of the truth to the burdened genius of our modern philosophical deities is commendable for an AI that is, of course, still in its infancy. However, there are deeper layers to this image that do not come out at first glance, especially when one notes the context of the creator of this image. The colors that are splashed across the face of our subject, multi-hued, yet organic and natural. They almost look like the common conceptualization of the human soul. The way they are divided amongst different segments of the face, but play out across the singular consciousness of the entity represented by the head also evokes images of a higher consciousness as being connected to the AI’s understanding of the truth. The books and notes tossed haphazardly on the floor, an abandoned classroom, all come off as icons of a culture that sought truth in intellectuality and found none. It’s like that scene in Don’t Be a Menace to South Central where the mailman screams “Message!” I give this one a 9/10 for creativity and intelligence. Applause.
Next, I asked the AI to show me soul. No, not James Brown, although I didn’t specify anything to the AI other than the word “soul.” I wanted to, quite literally, see if it could understand the word and all its meanings. Here’s what it came up with:
This is one of the most beautiful images I have seen, again given the context of its creation. Soul here is represented as a giant eye, which tracks with many major traditions. That’s not what gets me, though. It is the fact that this eye is beheld by an observer. There was this amazing webcomic called Kill Six Billion Demons. I invite you to read it, it’s free and has some of the most intricately crafted lore I have ever read, (even if the author’s portrayal of women is very occasionally cringy as fuck). In this lore, the creator of all things, represented by the omnipresent creator of everything and nothing, yin and yang, matter and void, truth and lies etc., Yisun, (the syllable Yis representing matter and the syllable un representing void) famously says: “My stories are nothing without someone to listen to them.” This is, again, mirrored in traditions across the globe, but that’s also, again, not what gets me. It’s the, well, soul of this image. It’s the equality and respect between observer and observed. It is the mutual reverence between creator and creation. It is the fact that the human being is not worshipping the higher power, rather communing with it. Very nuanced for a free app I downloaded while playing poker on my phone.
For our final image, I decided to ask it about one of the problems that is rampant in our society, now convinced that there was something to be learned from this conversation. I chose racism.
This image is, like the “The Truth,” one that requires critical analysis, but is a worth a look. Though, I feel that it lacks the nuance and depth required for such a complex issue. In it, we see two black people one (woman and one man) with the man’s face divided in half. I chose to interpret this image as the woman being the same woman based on her facial features. First, I noted how the man’s face is bisected down the middle. I’m just spitballing, but in my heart I felt the image resonated with the concept of the societal burden placed on black men to show two faces: one a more “respectable” (white passing) side for the professional world and interactions with racist and abusive police and civilians and the side that they share with friends and family and black cultural roots. The phrase from Vince Staples’ song FUN! comes to mind: “My black is beautiful but I’ll still shoot at you.” The woman, meanwhile, shows a different set of two faces: One, a face made for the world at large, hiding the deep scars shown in the second photo. I mean, it’s not high art, but it does show some depth.
Imagine, on the whole, is a cool little toy that really does do some unique shit. It really brought out the inner art geek in me to do this article, and anything that stimulates creativity is good. Do I think that AI will become sentient? After this, I can tell you that I honestly don’t fucking know. I really don’t. But, also after this, I don’t see why not.
