More Fun With AI

I've written in the past about how AI can help bring the past alive by helping sharpen old images, by animating historic photographs, using those animated photos to tell historic stories, and even by creating pictures based on text prompts.

Here's the next generation of AI creation - text prompts to create videos. The technology is in its infancy, but you can see just how powerful it can be in the examples below. I'll walk you through the process I used to make a short video. First, I uploaded this picture of Texas Jack to ChatGPT and asked it to describe him. This picture has previously been both sharpened and colorized using a combination of AI and manual work in Photoshop.

ChatGPT responded: "The person is a young man, appearing to be in his mid-20s, with a lean but sturdy build and slightly curly, medium-length dark brown hair. His complexion is light with a warm undertone, and he has a neatly groomed, subtle mustache and goatee. His eyes are expressive, dark brown, and slightly intense but kind, framed by naturally arched eyebrows. He is wearing a slightly worn, tan-brown shirt, buttoned at the front, giving him a rugged, outdoorsy look. On his head, he wears a wide-brimmed white hat, a common accessory of cowboys or frontier men. His attire and appearance suggest a historical or Western setting, perhaps from the late 19th century or early 20th century, with his shirt looking dusty and lived-in, as if he's spent time working or traveling outdoors. His expression is calm but confident, with a hint of curiosity in his gaze." Not bad, ChatGPT. I think it did a pretty good job describing Jack. Next, I took that exact description, word for word, and asked an AI called hailuoai to turn it into a video. I didn't give hailuoai the original picture of Texas Jack, just the description that ChatGPT pulled from the picture. Hailuoai used that description to create the following short video.

If they did a movie about Texas Jack next week, and this was the actor they cast, I don't think I'd be too upset.

I did the same for photographs of some of the most prominent people in Texas Jack's life, like his wife Giuseppina Morlacchi:

His best friend and trail & business partner Buffalo Bill Cody:

Their mentor and stage pal Wild Bill Hickok:

And dime-novelist, rabble-rouser, and playwright Ned Buntline

Remember, in each case, the video creation algorithm didn't actually see the picture, just a description of the photograph from a different AI. It's amazing technology, and in the right hands, it can bring history alive in ways that were hard to imagine until recently. While the possibilities of AI-generated video are exciting and can enhance how we engage with history and storytelling, we must also recognize the potential hazards that come with this technology. As AI becomes more adept at creating lifelike images and videos based solely on text prompts, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. In the wrong hands, these tools could be used to distort historical narratives, create convincing deepfakes, or spread misinformation with ease.

This is why it's now more important than ever to approach what we see on the internet with a healthy dose of skepticism. The ability to generate convincing visuals with little more than a prompt means that we, as consumers of information, need to be more vigilant about verifying sources and questioning the authenticity of what we encounter online. While AI offers incredible opportunities for creative exploration, we must balance this potential with a commitment to truth, ensuring that technology enhances our understanding of the world rather than distorting it.