I Asked AI To Make A Logo For Intactivism And This Is What It Created
Plus a few thoughts on AI Art.
I call it the “peace penis.” 😂
I actually think this came out pretty good. It clearly communicates the idea of peace, portrays an intact male body in a tasteful safe-for-work way, and has a sense of style, power, and simplicity.
My posting has slowed down in part because I’ve become obsessed with AI Art and am currently working on a 300-page AI art book I hope to have out around Halloween.
I believe AI Art is the future and will dramatically transform every creative profession as much as the internet, cryptocurrency, and smartphones have transformed society. Consequently, I’ve given myself a 6-month quest to learn everything I can about AI art.
My original goal was to produce and publish a graphic novel with entirely AI-generated art within one year. Now, that is looking like a modest goal, with the likelihood that I’ll have a 300-page art book out within two months of starting my quest. I have a few other goals, but some might require learning 3D rendering, so if you’re familiar with such tools and want to join me in my quest, reach out.
You might start seeing more AI-generated art on this substack. My previous thumbnail art for this publication was just free stock photos that I felt had a “hit or miss” quality, due to the fact that some abstract concepts don’t have a standard stock photo that works perfectly for them.
I’ve considered creating a substack just for publishing AI art, but:
I’m learning at a faster rate than I could write articles or publish.
Technology is moving at a faster rate than I could write about it. By the time I have a tutorial up on what I’ve learned, there will be a new tool.
My current audience is probably more interested in social justice, children’s issues, etc. than AI art.
That said, I’d like to make a few predictions:
AI art will radically transform society. It will be as big a transformation as when everyone got smartphones. Now, everyone has a studio that can make anything. We are not far from the Star Trek holodeck. You cannot underestimate this.
AI art will become the norm on all artistic productions. Right now AI art is a novelty. “This art was AI-generated!” makes for an interesting tidbit to share. In time, AI-created art will be the norm, and saying that something was entirely hand-drawn will be the novelty. This already happened in film. CG was a novelty, and now we assume 90% of what we see onscreen is CG, including things that you wouldn’t expect and don’t have to be like costumes and background clouds. “We used all practical effects” is now the novelty and boast. Same will happen with AI art.
It will become impossible to know what is real and what isn’t. It will be so easy to create entire fake personas, social media accounts, streamers, images, etc. that people will only be able to trust what they see with their own eyes. I have already been publicly writing about this as early as 2017. You need to start learning discernment now around what you trust online. People can already livestream and create entire social media for people who don’t exist. The tech is here already. When it goes wide, everything will change. This is 1-3 years away, not decades.
Rather than just make this a prediction where I can tell you “told ya so” a few years from now, I’m going all in on learning the skills. I see the same opportunity here you’d have if you got into app development at the onset of the iPhone or went all in on social media when Instagram first launched.
In five years, a lot of film production will be replaced by someone typing “alien invasion, dynamic shot” into the prompt of an AI video generator. When that happens, if you know the skills there will be an opprotunity. If you wait, you might be in the position of a taxi driver when Uber launched. Better to learn now and replace yourself.
By the way, you own the images you make from most AI art generators. Courts have ruled you own the copyright for AI art you make and the machine itself can’t copyright it. So the above logo is mine. If you like it, let me know.
Edit: A reader asked what prompt I used to create the above logo. I used the prompt “intactivist logo, protect men, male survivor, men hero, simple, powerful” in MidjourneyAI, v3.
It is a pretty bad-ass logo. This is a really interesting path fork, got me thinking I wonder if/when I could apply the same thing to writing original content. Ghost-writer in the machine. Excited to see more of your AI art-work.
Hi Brendon. Firstly, I'd like to congratulate you on your writing and campaigning for social justice and the human rights issues surrounding circumcision and more. By coincidence, I was re-watching American Circumcision this morning, after a particularly heated debate on the subject with family over dinner last night!
And now on to the logo posted within your email today. I'm not sure I would recognize the themes you hope to convey - without an explanation. A good logo shouldn't need a cheat sheet to help explain it. The 'peace' symbol you reference is actually a 'ban the bomb' logo designed by members of CND in the '60s, so I'm not sure that's a great fit. The overall look and feel of your AI-created logo feels rather fascist in style, and quite aggressive. A bit of brutalism maybe, and maybe a touch of satanism (the horns) for good measure! And talking of AI - is there a hint of the Tesla IUD logo in there?
An interesting experiment certainly, and thanks for sharing it with your supporters and friends. At least for now, I think AI might be lacking when it comes to nuance and emotional connection.
David