One of the most striking contributions of Artificial Intelligence to
cutting-edge computer programming is architectural visualization. It can be
seen and experienced in, among others, two new applications that are nothing
short of mind-blowing, even if you you think you have seen it all.
اضافة اعلان
The first is
called Canvas and is the brainchild of Nvidia, the world’s leading designer and
maker of graphic processors for computers. It is difficult, in words only, to
give a complete idea of what Canvas can do. A better way would be to watch the
videos available on YouTube on the subject.
Even Nvidia’s
own definition comes short of describing the application’s spectacular work; it
“lets you customize your image so that it’s exactly what you need. Canvas has
nine styles that modify the look and feel of a painting and twenty different
materials ranging from sky and mountains to river and stone. Paint on different
layers to keep elements separate. You can start from scratch or get inspired by
one of the sample scenes”.
In simpler
words, perhaps, without having any particular drawing, painting, photographic
or design skills, you use the mouse and apply rough, approximate brushstrokes
to an empty window on your screen, select one among the above mentioned nine
styles (mountain, sky, etc.), and Canvas almost instantly turns them into real
places, objects, landscapes, as surely as if they were photographs of the
actual place, object, or landscape. Once the target is created, you can
customize, fine-tune, and modify it to your liking or to the requirements of
the project you may be working on. It is done at lightning speed and the result
is as realistic as if you took a photo — and a great one — of an actual place
or landscape.
Dall-E-2 is the
other application, and it works differently. No brushstrokes here. You just
describe, with words, with plain text, the scenery you are thinking of, and
Dall-E-2 will generate the photo you have in mind. For instance, type “a
detached house, with brick walls, a swimming pool, a small red car in the garage,
a dog in the garden, and cloudy skies above”, and watch the result on the
screen, as photo realistic as in real life.
As with Canvas,
watching pertaining videos on YouTube gives an accurate idea of the power of
the application.
Customization,
with painstaking details, is also possible here. Edit the text you started
from, and the picture will follow, render, and apply the edit. You can even add
people, flowers, or furniture. It is, again, the sheer power of software
programming combined with AI algorithms that does the trick. It would have been
unthinkable a mere 10 years ago.
Jordanian
designer Yazan Baggili, who recently downloaded and experimented with Canvas in
his office, explained that “Canvas is essentially about creating scenery and
landscapes. Dalle-E-2 is more about visualizing things that are only in your
mind, like for example: a cat in space in Van Gogh style!”
It is, again, the sheer power of software programming combined with AI algorithms that does the trick. It would have been unthinkable a mere 10 years ago.
Speaking to
Jordan News he added: “We are slowly but surely getting used to how AI accesses
gigantic data bases of just about any kind of content. Now Canvas and Dall-E-2
can tap these resources and create things that have never existed before,
combining them in an artistic and astounding manner.”
To quickly name
a third player in the game, Unreal 5 is another architectural visualization
software that does incredible, photo realistic renderings.
It is understood
that such applications require a fast computer processor, of the Intel i7 type,
for example, and a powerful graphics processor as well, such as Nvidia of the
latest generation. Not meeting these technical requirements may simply prevent
the software from running at all or may even make installing such applications
impossible.
We are barely
starting to feel the effects of AI-injected software in a practical and
tangible manner, whether in a highly positive way, or in a negative way, like
in accidents and errors in predictions. In extreme cases, it can be tragic, at
other times just entertaining.
A negative
example: “US car manufacturers reported nearly 400 crashes involving cars with
partially autonomous driver assistance systems, according to a new report from
a US car-safety regulator released on Wednesday,” Al Jazeera published on June
15.
A lighter
example is the amused reaction of Carlos Alija, the executive creative director
at MullenLowe, a US advertising and marketing communications agency, at how
tennis champion Rafael Nadal recovered from two sets down to win the Australian
tennis open last January, when AI algorithms were giving his opponent Daniil
Medvedev 96 percent chances to win during the 3rd set.
My first formal
and academic approach to AI goes back to 1983, when I was studying the textbook
titled “Artificial Intelligence” by Elaine Rich, from the University of Texas
in Austin. Back then, it sounded like science fiction. It is solid reality
today. As Canvas and Dall-E-2 are telling you, “see for yourself”.
Jean-Claude Elias is a computer engineer and a classically
trained pianist and guitarist. He has been regularly writing IT articles,
reviewing music albums, and covering concerts for more than 30 years.
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