Cosmo Let AI Design Its Latest Magazine Cover

Cosmo has enlisted a cutting-edge artificial intelligence program as its latest cover artist. The Hearst-owned magazine has become one of the first major print publications to tap research group OpenAI's cutting-edge image generator, Dall-E 2, to help design its cover art in a new digital issue that publishes this week. The resulting image, a purple-shaded astronaut taking a step on the moon, will grace the cover of a special-edition magazine that seeks to demonstrate the potential of artificial intelligence to the outlet's audience of primarily young women. Trained on around 650 million images, Dall-E 2 can generate a wholly original image from a simple text prompt in a matter of seconds. With a capability for photorealism far beyond that of any previous AI image generator, the tool has become a sensation on social media since its release earlier this year, flooding the internet with bizarre images and spurring curiosity and worry from digital artists everywhere. Cosmo editor in chief Jessica Pels said she had thought that Dall-E 2's output would make for an interesting cover since her first introduction to the technology. Cosmo's editors worked with digital artist Karen X. Cheng to realize the idea in a process that ultimately took only 20 seconds of image generation processing. Journalist Gloria Liu wrote the cover story. “Cosmo loves to be on the cutting edge, and I strive to surface to the rest of the world that our audience is as cutting-edge as they come—digital natives who are so creative and engaged with the technology that helps them create," Pels said in a statement. Pels said it is important for publishers to experiment with and consider the implications of this type of technology. But despite the AI's staggering efficiency, the magazine doesn't envision it replacing its creative director anytime soon. Rather, machine learning could serve as one graphic software tool among many others. "This technology is incredible, and fun to play around with, and important for publishers to understand how to utilize, but it also has a lot of real-world implications that are important for our readers to know and think critically about." OpenAI is also seeking to position its technology as a "creative co-pilot" rather than a replacement for artists as it readies Dall-E 2 for a paid commercial product, according to Cosmo. The technology is currently in a beta phase with limited access to an invite-only list of artists and developers. Natalie Summers, an OpenAI communications rep who runs the research group's Artist Access program, said she hopes the cover story and art will serve as an inspiration to Cosmo's largely young female readership. "I believe there will be women who see this and a door will open for them to consider going into the AI and machine learning fields—or even just to explore how AI tools can enhance their work and their lives," Summers said in a statement. "Women will be better equipped to lead in this next chapter of what it means to coexist with, and determine the course of, increasingly powerful technology." Creative AI tools have evolved in leaps and bounds over the past few years as advances in machine learning research has vastly improved their generative capabilities. The new tools have spawned a growing scene of AI artists and creatives experimenting with its potential. OpenAI is also pushing boundaries with its massive language generator, GPT-3, which can similarly string together realistic-sounding copy in a matter of seconds.

AI News

Cosmo Let AI Design Its Latest Magazine Cover

The publication tapped a cutting-edge image generator

Patrick Kulp

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Patrick Kulp