AI is smashing entry barriers.

I have now spent a couple of weeks experimenting with some of the AI tools that have been unleashed on the world. The overwhelming feeling I keep returning to is not how disruptive they are and how damaging to industries they will be but rather how many barriers they are removing from entering those industries.

For content creators, this is a seismic shift. Overnight, anyone now has the ability to become a graphic designer or artist. It becomes less about what you know how to do and more about what you can imagine. This is a beautiful thing.

Midjourney?

I gave an example in a previous article about how Midjourney is a chef. You can input a list of ingredients with no other prompt, and it will create a stunning image of a complete dish for you. Couple this with some quick ChatGPT menu prompts, and you can literally create an entire AI-generated cookbook with recipes and pictures in an evening.

All of a sudden, anyone has the ability to create storyboards and pitch decks. I began playing around with some different art styles within Midjourney, and all of a sudden, an entirely new pirate universe started fleshing out.

This is all without formal art, design, or Photoshop training. These images were achieved through a few hours of learning to prompt Midjourney effectively. If I return to my good friend ChatGPT I can create a quick backstory for my universe.

It could still use a bit of tweaking, but the structure of this is pretty good. Instead of turning it into a graphic novel, book series, or tv show, I decided it would be better suited to the video game medium. Once again, I turn to ChatGPT for the assist.

Time to flesh out more of this universe.

Photoshop and Adobe Firefly (beta)

Here is where things get interesting. Adobe is rolling out its prompt generative fill feature. If you haven’t heard about it, check out the link below. It looks incredibly promising.?

All of a sudden, I can start bootstrapping my quick little pirate images and tailoring them to exactly the specifics I am looking for. Additionally, I can take other assets and start molding them to fit my universe with this new feature. Pretty impressive. Fleshing out my universe further just became even more accessible. Pirates galore.

Adobe Photoshop (beta) x Adobe Firefly: Announcing Generative Fill

Unreal Engine 5.2

If you thought the prompt Generative Fill on Adobe looked promising, check out the newest update from Unreal Engine. Its Procedural Content Feature is mindblowing.?

While the technology isn’t quite there yet for 3D prompt image generation, once we get there, the whole gaming industry will shift. All of a sudden AAA games and their studios will need to adapt. The amount of money and size of teams required to produce the GTAs and Hogwarts Legacys of today will shrink dramatically. We will see the emergence of small teams and studios that can punch above their weight class and produce similar products to those 10x their size. The pirate universe I dreamt up in an afternoon could start to become a game reality the next day and hit the market in a fraction of the production time.

What is nice about this potential future is that, unlike other technologies, the gaming industry has resisted—notably blockchain technology for NFTs and cryptocurrencies. Some of the leaders seem open and eager to see how AI can enhance the process. Epic Games, which owns and operates Unreal Engine’s CEO, Tim Sweeny, Tweeted out in December of 2022 that:

Unreal Engine 5.2 Feature Highlights

Conclusion

While most of what I just described is a theory of what will happen, it seems a safe bet that the gaming industry will follow this trend. This is just one example of how AI is not only disrupting industries but empowering content creators. I didn’t even mention any of the AI-generative video technologies that are emerging. Again, all these tools and technologies are lowering the entry-level barriers for creators. Why not pick up a second or third career and experiment with these tools? It has never been more accessible or approachable.?

AI is leveling the playing field. Remember, it is what you can imagine, not what you know.