AI Is Finally Ready To Draw The Enterprise, Star Trek Artists Facing Unemployment?
Artificial intelligence has made significant strides in recent years, and its application in various creative fields has been frighteningly groundbreaking. With the release of Midjourney 6.0, the technology has shown that it is finally ready to draw the iconic Star Trek Enterprise, a feat once deemed impossible. This development raises questions about the future of traditional artists.
AI Has A Hard Time Drawing Star Trek Ships
Initial AI attempts to draw the Star Trek Enterprise were characterized by various inaccuracies, a lack of fine details, and an inability to capture the essence of the iconic ship, as you can see above.
Traditional artists at the time could rest easy knowing that earlier versions of the technology struggled to replicate the complexity and charm of their hand-drawn creations.
AI Advancements
With the release of Midjourney 6.0, the game has changed as AI can generate stunningly realistic and faithful representations of the Star Trek Enterprise as seen flying over a futuristic NYC skyline in the image above.
The generated images were no longer just a collection of futuristic hallways but relatively accurate, detailed representations of the famous starship, marking a turning point in the intersection of technology and artistic creation.
These advancements in AI-generated art have raised concerns for traditional artists. However, as Star Trek: Voyager previously predicted, AI has the potential to complement human artists rather than replace them.
More than two decades ago, a Season 7 episode of Voyager titled “Author, Author” anticipated the ongoing AI controversy when the Doctor (an artificial being) becomes a holonovel writer.
Star Trek And AI In The Franchise
The foresight displayed by Star Trek has been consistent throughout its history. Notably, in the third season of Enterprise, produced just two years after the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the narrative involving the NX-01 Enterprise foresaw real-world occurrences, such as the controversial use of “enhanced interrogation” resembling torture methods.
The Doctor’s character and the associated issues draw intriguing parallels to contemporary discussions surrounding artificial intelligence. The episode concludes with contemplating whether the Doctor can be considered an artist.
At its core, the question explores the essence of artistic expression and whether AI systems can genuinely capture the intricacies of human creativity or just mimic it.
AI And Human Artists
Unlike the image above, imagined terribly by AI art previous to Midjourney 6.0, AI may now be able to generate images of the Star Trek Enterprise easily, human artists have unique perspectives, creativity, and artistic vision that even the most advanced technology could never replicate.
However, the relationship between AI and human artists is more than a zero-sum game. Instead, it is a collaboration that can lead to new and exciting possibilities in the world of art.
Unprecedented Levels Of Creativity
Traditional artists can leverage AI tools to enhance their creative process, combining human intuition’s strengths with AI’s computational power.
Collaboration between artists and AI can lead to unprecedented levels of creativity, as seen in the improved versions of the Star Trek Enterprise drawings.
Midjourney, a frontrunner in the rapidly advancing field of AI art technologies, introduced its highly anticipated 6.0 alpha just in time for Christmas 2023.
AI Imagery
The updated version, used to create images of the Star Trek Enterprise, includes an improved ability to render text within images, putting Midjourney in closer competition with rivals like OpenAI’s DALLE 3.
The development team is also gearing up for Midjourney 7, which aims to introduce 3D and video features.
The technology also plans to enhance its web and mobile platforms, potentially moving away from the current reliance on Discord for image generation.
