The Man Behind Midjourney

This paragraph introduces the topic of AI-generated images, highlighting their growing influence in just one year. It mentions MidJourney, a small San Francisco-based research lab led by David Holes, as a leader in this space. The video promises to explore MidJourney's rise, its founder's background, how to use its version 5, and the future of AI-generated art.

This section provides an overview of the history and development of AI image generation. Starting with generative adversarial networks in 2014, the field gained momentum in 2016 when researchers began using image recognition technology to create images. The paragraph contrasts the early 32x32 pixel images with the advances made in 2022 by OpenAI's DALL·E 2 and MidJourney's more recent version 5, which now produces highly sophisticated images.

This paragraph focuses on David Holes, the 34-year-old founder of MidJourney. With an eclectic background that includes neuroscience research, working with NASA, and co-founding Leap Motion, Holes brings a unique perspective to the AI space. His interests range from design to speculative topics like telepathy and climate engineering. The paragraph highlights how MidJourney operates with a focus on innovation rather than profit and mentions its influential advisors, including microprocessor engineer Jim Keller.

In this section, the concept of Moore’s Law is discussed, focusing on how technological innovations continue to drive exponential growth in computing power. Jim Keller, one of MidJourney's advisors, argues that despite predictions of its decline, Moore’s Law is not dead due to a cascade of innovations. This perspective is important in understanding how advances like MidJourney’s AI image generation continue to progress rapidly.

This part explores the public release of MidJourney’s image generator on July 12, 2022, and its rapid rise to prominence. It highlights how viral AI-generated images, such as the Pope in a fashionable jacket and Donald Trump's fictional arrest, have brought global attention to MidJourney. Due to a surge in users, the lab halted its free trial program. The paragraph notes that a Chinese tutorial video likely contributed to this spike in demand.

MidJourney version 5 introduced several new features, including seamless tiling, custom aspect ratios, and image weighting. These improvements allow users more control over the image creation process. Despite still being in its Alpha stage, version 5 has already produced astonishing results, as seen with viral images. The section ends with instructions on how users can join the MidJourney beta and start using the tool via Discord.

This paragraph explains how to use MidJourney to generate AI images. By joining the MidJourney Discord server and sending prompts using the '/imagine' command, users can generate four image variations. Options include remaking prompts, upscaling, or creating additional variations. The section emphasizes that creating high-quality images takes practice and mentions using tools like ChatGPT to enhance prompts.

David Holes shares his predictions for the future of AI, expecting 30 frames per second AI-generated video within a year and entire video games created by AI within a decade. The paragraph notes that rudimentary AI video games are already in development. Holes reflects on how the rapid creation of AI images feels like being swept away by a torrent of water, comparing AI’s potential to water—both dangerous and beneficial. He urges embracing the opportunities AI presents while acknowledging its risks.