What communicators need to know about AI image generators

You need a good visual to grab a reader’s attention, but working with obstinate illustrators and photographers can make you crazy. Perhaps even homicidal. Stay your hand. Try one of the new AI art generators instead. They’re the Next Big Thing that may someday live up to the hype … and dispense with those pesky artists.

The concept is simple. You type in a set of words describing the image you want. Artificial intelligence scans hundreds of millions of images on the internet tagged with those words, slices and dices the relevant ones, then compiles the bits and pieces into a single image.

You don’t like it? Hit resend. Another image with similar attributes appears seconds later. Still not happy? Hit resend again. Another revision pops up. Yes, dozens of original illustrations produced nearly instantaneously for negligible cost.