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AI-generated posters don’t have to be horrible

1902 points · 962 comments · ereiamjh

  1. vova_hn2 · · focus · HN ↗
    I find it kinda funny that even "smartest", most capable models often have a very hard time going beyond surface-level, top-of-mind associations, when faced with creative tasks.

    Of course, a "Japanese Minimal Poster" has a sakura and a stylized flag of Japan, duh

    A human designer would probably think that "Japan -> sakura" and "Japan -> Japanese flag" are way too obvious, too banal, too stereotypical, and, most importantly too boring. And then they would probably sit for a while and try to think of something fresher and less clichéd.

    But AI has absolutely no problem with going with the cheesiest, most overused trope.

    1. ereiamjh · · focus · HN ↗
      Author here.

      Well of course Spring + Japan = Sakura. In a way the model would be faulty if it didn't reach for that cliché. That's what it's meant to do.

      If you want originality, you need to supply it. AI fills the vacuum with the obvious thing.

      And in a way that's a feature. If I was creating a poster myself I'd think "nah, can't use sakura it's too obvious". AI gets you past that hurdle. "Yeah, we used the cliché, it looks nice, let's move on".

      This is if it's for a school fayre, village fête, etc. - brilliant originality isn't the goal. But it's nice when your poster doesn't look the same as three other posters on the same noticeboard (I have seen this).

      If brilliant originality is needed, a human has to bring it. Although an LLM with the temperature turned up can offer some nice seeds.

      1. ManuelKiessling · · focus · HN ↗
        "AI fills the vacuum with the obvious thing."

        I like that a lot.

        1. Maxion · · focus · HN ↗
          It literally is how they work. They look for the next most probable token. Always keep that in mind when writing a prompt or reading output. If you don't supply it, it will fill it in with the most obvious stuff.
      2. iandanforth · · focus · HN ↗
        If you need pseudo-originality I have a skill for that: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;iandanforth&#x2F;force-associations" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;iandanforth&#x2F;force-associations
        1. aleksiy123 · · focus · HN ↗
          Tyty I was thinking about something similar
        2. mohamedkoubaa · · focus · HN ↗
          I love it. Entropic prompt injection
        3. gavmor · · focus · HN ↗
          Nice! I use an old madlibs library I built for D&amp;D: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;gavmor&#x2F;Dunmanifestin" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;gavmor&#x2F;Dunmanifestin
          1. johnsillings · · focus · HN ↗
            that&#x27;s very clever
            1. gavmor · · focus · HN ↗
              Thanks, it introduces a little &quot;jitter&quot; that keeps the egg from rolling down the same face of the ridge every time. Possibly, the same could be accomplished with a judicious application of the temperature parameter.

              But how to tell the model which section is supposed to be populated with spicy tokens?

        4. 4gotunameagain · · focus · HN ↗
          Association clouds.. Routes.. Whatever this is..

            pigeon-footed → splayed toes → several directions → indecision → ambivalence
            Do not cross the two clouds until each has several branches.
          
            Reject commemorate + dulcigenic → a sweet memorial. Prefer A monument can turn bitterness into sweet nostalgia without changing what happened.  
            Reject preindicant + sclerotical → a hardened omen. Follow foretelling → divination and hard anatomy → bone to knucklebones.
          
          It is a prime example of esoteric LLM incantations, if not -excuse me- nonsense
          1. b473a · · focus · HN ↗
            Off topic and a little whimsical, but LLM incantations is a really fun idea.

            In a world where one hyper intelligent AI controls everything, hackers work tirelessly in secret off-grid, doing extreme math by hand, finding the right series of tokens that magically coerce the AI into carrying out certain actions. Spell books are copied out by hand and distributed in dark alleyways. Itinerant wizards travel the land on horse drawn carriages, travelling from town to town, casting spells on people&#x27;s devices to bend the AI to their will.

      3. [deleted] · · focus · HN ↗

        [deleted]

      4. dreambuffer · · focus · HN ↗
        But that is the criticism being made, that if you must supply the originality, the AI is not very intelligent.
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