Groove Jones has been using AI (Artificial Intelligence) for years. When others in our industry rejected it, we leaned in. We’ve become experts in using AI to revolutionize the creative business world behind the scenes. We’ve been integrating these technologies into advertising campaigns, customer and fan activations, and our applications. Now that everyone is talking about AI, especially our Clients and Agency partners, we have to explain how AI works on the creative level, specifically generative art. This article will explain how it works and some of the tools we use.

Generative Art and Language Models – A Glimpse into How AI Technologies are Revolutionizing Creative Fields

Picture a childhood memory where you’re lying on the grass, gazing up at the sky, transforming clouds into imaginative shapes—a game of creativity and perception. This simple joy of finding stories in the clouds serves as a perfect analogy for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in generative art. AI begins with “latent noise,” akin to the formless clouds, and embarks on a creative quest. Given a prompt, like the shapes of clouds guiding our imaginations, AI navigates through this digital chaos. It shapes and refines the noise, gradually forming images that match the descriptions provided by users.

From randomness to a coherent picture, this process mirrors our playful cloud gazing. It demonstrates AI’s capability to mimic and participate in human creativity, expanding the realm of artistic possibility. As we explore AI in art and language, let’s remember this parallel—it highlights the boundless potential of AI to convert digital noise into meaningful, imaginative creations.

Generative Art and LLM

Generative art is created using autonomous systems like AI algorithms. Artists set guidelines for the software to follow, but the final artwork is autonomously generated, incorporating elements of randomness and algorithmic processing. This approach transforms the artist’s role from direct creator to facilitator, with the art emerging from the system’s operations within the defined parameters.

Large Language Models (LLMs) are AI systems trained on extensive text data, enabling them to understand, generate, and translate text in ways that mimic human language. These models can produce written content, from essays to poetry, demonstrating nuanced understanding and creativity. LLMs exemplify the application of AI in language-based creative tasks, showcasing the intersection of technology and artistry.

What is AI Generative Art?

The Concept and Mechanics Behind AI-Generated Art

Algorithms can produce original artwork by following a set of rules and parameters defined by the artist, with the computer executing the process. This method merges artistic vision with computational efficiency, creating a space where human creativity directs machine precision to generate unique art.

Artist’s Role: Artists outline the creative blueprint, deciding on elements like color schemes, patterns, and behaviors, sometimes incorporating randomness or external data for unpredictable results.

Computer Execution: Computers process these guidelines with high speed and accuracy, iterating over designs and producing variations that might be impossible or time-consuming for humans to achieve manually.

Unique Artwork: The outcome is original artwork, characterized by its uniqueness due to the algorithm’s random factors or data inputs, representing a collaboration between the artist’s intentions and the computer’s capabilities.

Below is a retail experience for Keebler using our Generative AI portrait system that turns customers into Keebler Elves. Case study – https://www.groovejones.com/open-for-magic-selfie-studio-ai-generative-art

Tools and Software

The development of AI models capable of generating images from textual descriptions has remarkably transformed the intersection of technology and artistry. These tools represent a leap forward in how we create, interpret, and interact with art, merging algorithms’ precision with the human mind’s boundless creativity. Here are some of the leading tools in this space:

• Dall-E – Developed by OpenAI, DALL-E is a groundbreaking AI model that generates detailed images based on textual descriptions. It can create anything from realistic photos to intricate artworks, all from a simple text prompt. DALL-E’s ability to understand and interpret a wide range of concepts and styles makes it a versatile tool for artists, designers, and creatives looking to explore new visual territories.
• MidJourney – MidJourney is an AI research lab’s tool that focuses on creating visually stunning and conceptually rich images from text prompts. It is known for its distinctive style and the quality of its output, often producing images that feel deeply artistic and thought-provoking. MidJourney excels in generating imagery that reflects complex ideas and moods, catering to both artistic exploration and commercial projects.
• Krea.AI – Krea is a newer entrant into the field, designed to be user-friendly and accessible to individuals without technical expertise. It leverages AI to transform textual descriptions into vivid images, emphasizing ease of use and the democratization of creative tools. Krea aims to make the power of AI-driven art creation available to a broader audience, encouraging creativity and innovation.
• RunwayML – RunwayML offers creatives an accessible way to use advanced AI models for a variety of purposes, including image generation, video editing, and more. It’s designed as an intuitive platform for artists, designers, and educators, enabling them to incorporate AI into their workflows without needing deep technical knowledge.
• Sora – Sora is a groundbreaking text-to-video model developed by OpenAI, designed to transform textual descriptions into vivid, dynamic videos effortlessly. It represents a significant advancement in the field of digital creativity, offering unparalleled creative possibilities by merging the power of AI with the art of storytelling. Sora enables the generation of videos up to a minute long while maintaining visual quality and adherence to the user’s prompt, marking a new frontier in how we conceive and produce video content through AI.
• Suno.AI – Suno AI is an innovative artificial intelligence platform designed for music generation, enabling users to create original songs using simple text prompts. The platform, which went into open beta in July 2023, has gained attention for its ability to translate textual descriptions into complex musical compositions, including both instrumentals and vocals. Suno AI stands out for its user-friendly approach to music creation, allowing both seasoned musicians and novices to explore the realm of AI-generated music effortlessly. By leveraging advanced AI technology, Suno AI empowers users to bring their musical ideas to life, providing a new avenue for creative expression in the digital age.
• Stable Diffusion – Stable Diffusion is an open-source AI image synthesis model that has democratized access to image generation technology. It allows users to create detailed images and art from textual descriptions, offering high degrees of customization and control over the output. Its accessibility and the community-driven development model have spurred a wave of creativity and experimentation. We used a custom version of Stable Diffusion with defined Control Net techniques to create the award-winning Keebler sELFie Studio experience.

Applications and Use Cases – Highlighting Real-World Applications of AI in Creative Fields

AI Filters

Platforms like Canva now offer AI filters that can dramatically transform photos into various art styles, such as cartoons, anime, and classical paintings, with just a few clicks. This tool allows users to upload an image and apply creative AI effects, generating unique and high-quality photos suitable for social media, web decoration, and more. Beyond basic filters, Canva also provides tools for further customization, including object removal and image expansion, offering a comprehensive suite for creative photo editing.

Persona Changes

Pincel is an online tool that simplifies transforming your face into AI-powered photorealistic artwork. Unlike other platforms that may require multiple images to train an AI model, Pincel only needs one clear picture to generate a portrait in various artistic styles. It provides a range of style templates and even allows for custom prompts, giving users complete control over the creative outcome.

This tool is fun for creating social media profiles or personalized gifts and is a cost-effective solution for professional-quality images. Additionally, Pincel offers various other AI tools for photo editing, such as background removal and photo extension.

Experiential Marketing

Experiential marketing is getting an AI upgrade, enabling new ways of storytelling and immersive experiences. AI tools are used for strategic brainstorming, creating artwork, and generating personal documents and clues for immersive fan experiences. Generative AI tools like Midjourney and ChatGPT are being used to expedite design, render creation, and virtual extensions of physical events, making it easier for creatives to render both physical and virtual experiences. We have created AI-powered camera booth experiences that allow fans to generate unique portraits that are brand-centric and authentic.

Revolution Marketing worked with Groove Jones to create the AI Aura Photo Experience for Method, a body care products brand under SC Johnson, to engage music fans at this year’s Coachella event. Case study – https://www.groovejones.com/ai-aura-photo-experience-at-coachella/

The final output was a personalized, stylized portrait that reflected their “Aura” in one of three styles: Pure Peace, Simply Nourish, or Daily Zen.

Beyond Creative – AI for Voice, Logic, Understanding, and Data

Invesco QQQ wanted an interactive and technology-driven fan experience to highlight their sponsorship at this year’s NCAA Final Four Men’s and Women’s Championships. Groove Jones worked with their agency, 160Over90, to design and develop an experience so sports fans could see and feel what it’s like to be on the court where they can recreate a moment during a pivotal NCAA championship game. Invesco QQQ is the Official ETF of the NCAA and March Madness. Cases study for Invesco QQQ – https://www.groovejones.com/invesco-qqq-ai-ncaa-final-four-experience/

AI-Powered Computer Vision and Crowd Simulation: The crowd simulation is powered by AI Computer Vision, which tracks your movements, performance, and position on the court. This data controls the CGI crowd, directs them to where you are in real time, and directs their reactions. The AI crowd reacts with cheers when you make a shot and taunts when you miss a shot.

AI-Powered Announcer Voice: Every participant needed to register to play. This enabled our team to collect the guest’s name to feed the leaderboard system displayed on the wall. It also was a data point for our text-to-speech AI system. During production, we hired voice talent as the announcer’s voice. This was then used to train our AI engine to call play-by-play action in real-time on the court. This included the ability to announce the player’s name when the game starts, as well as to add colorful commentary and even create nicknames for the guests based on their performance.

AI Personalization Engine™ – Generative Art and AI-Powered Platform for Marketing and Fan Engagement

We developed the AI Personalization Engine™ to solve this challenge and create digital experiences that deliver amazing takeaways for your customers. Our AI Personalization Engine™ is an innovative, flexible, and turnkey platform we license to our clients to create generative art campaigns and programs. Learn more about the platform and how easy it is to plug it into an on-site event or a 100% digital online campaign: https://www.groovejones.com/ai-personalization-engine/.