Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev.

Good Rules by Kieran Drew

I recently set up Stable Diffusion locally with the default model and openjourney – which is an unlimited prompt-based image generator. And here’s a thought. The prompt should be formulated as if the computer crafted it, looking at the final image. Computers recognize patterns in images that have previously appeared in the training dataset. Thus, it can’t properly draw a three-legged cat unless the dataset included three-legged animals. Likewise, it would see the cat in a three-legged cat, not the three-legged aspect. In essence, abstract thinking is severely limited to what it has been trained on.

Yet, it’s possible to train using algorithmically generated objects. For example, if you define three-leggedness in modern animation programs, you could generate thousands of diverse animals on such a skeleton, in various poses. It would be interesting to develop a system based on this. In theory, this approach could extend beyond just animals. Implementing a CAPTCHA based on ai-generated results could lead people to filter and tag results for free.

So, today I finally snapped and decided to create a book with AI) took me 40 minutes. Text by ChatGPT. Pictures by Midjourney. Russian translation by DeepL. Layout is my own. Click on the title, then 12 pages follow.

Just a heads up – it’s not a cheerful one!

So today I snapped and decided to make a book using AI) it took 40 minutes. The text is from ChatGPT. The images are from Midjourney. The layout is mine. Click on the title, and then there are 12 pages.

Just a heads up—it’s not a cheerful one!

A small new batch of my photos from various times

Sixth painting. There were grapes, now there’s wine!

I believe that the next big breakthrough will be based on the combination of generative AI with AI-driven depth map reconstruction from a single photograph. In fact, it already exists — MiDaS, and several others. Why this is interesting — essentially, it allows for integrating objects into the environment on the photograph in such a way that shadows, palette, and lighting are taken into account. Currently, this is challenging because, figuratively speaking, the AI does not know that the surface of the table in the photo is unevenly lit not just by chance, but because it is angled towards the light source in such a way, and that tree over there creates a shadow. With a depth map, this begins to make sense.

I don’t yet understand how to implement this right now, but it feels like it’s very much the near future. NVIDIA demonstrates recreating 3D from several photos — this is photogrammetry through AI, much faster and at first glance very accurate.

“Building and maintaining an empire usually required the brutal extermination of a large population and the harsh oppression of everyone who remained. The standard imperial toolkit included wars, enslavement, deportation, and genocide. When the Romans invaded Scotland in AD 83, they encountered fierce resistance from the local Caledonian tribes but eventually devastated the country. In response to the Romans’ peace proposals, the leader Calgacus called the Romans ‘robbers of the world’ and said, ‘robbery, slaughter, and raid they misname empire, they make a desert and call it peace’.”

Sapiens

Yuval Harari

Well, isn’t it just like a cat. Came in, laid down. Settled into the new place.

Says we’ll be writing the business trip report together

At different times in different locations, I captured various things for myself. I’ve gathered here all sorts that might claim artistic value and perhaps belong on a corridor frame.

On the desktop version, do not click on the photos in the previews, but directly on the album. FB’s preview doesn’t show all 70 pieces, just the first couple dozen.

Can you guess where each was taken?