Space Fortress in the Renaissance Style on an Ice Planet

September 27, 2022

This is the response of DALL-E 2 to the same prompt that I had given the Midjourney AI to generate the scene from the previous day. In each instance I had asked the artificial intelligence to generate a “Detailed representational painting of a space fortress in the Renaissance architectural style with Corinthian columns overlooking a valley on an ice planet with bluish ice and a light blue sky.” It seems that DALL-E 2 was a bit more attentive to the architectural details, while Midjourney was more impressionistic, but both AIs came up with some weathered structures on which the elements have certainly taken their toll. Beneath the colonnade from which the observer overlooks the valley, one can see some other structures – several towers that mark what seems to be the entryway to this settlement, as well as a domed outlying structure that is covered with a thick layer of snow.

2040 Transhumanist Party Headquarters

September 30, 2022

Can we succeed in making a building like this the Transhumanist Party Headquarters by the year 2040?

Image generated using DALL-E 2, with some significant manual edits.

The World’s Nuclear Missiles Dismantled – Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4

October 2, 2022

My hope for the future of humanity: the world’s nuclear missiles on a large conveyor belt being sent to a giant futuristic factory which turns the missiles into peaceful spaceships. This story is told in a series of images generated using DALL-E 2.

(1) The missiles are sent toward the factory using an immense conveyor belt in the sky.

(2) The missiles enter the factory premises to be dismantled.

(3) The inactivated nuclear warheads are moved along for safe disposal.

(4) Spaceships created from the remaining missile components take off from the assembly line.

Geometrically Diverse Blue and Gold Cityscape

October 5, 2022

A geometrically fascinating futuristic cityscape envisioned by DALL-E 2 based on my prompt, “Detailed representational painting of futuristic city with skyscrapers in various historical styles with blue and gold colors.” Admittedly, this cityscape is a bit more dreamlike than representational, and the styles of the buildings definitely tend toward the experimental. However, the reference to historical styles probably gave the AI an idea that it was acceptable to recombine a greater variety of architectural elements than a conventional contemporary cityscape would involve.

Blue and Gold City Skyline

October 11, 2022

A blue and gold city skyline generated by DALL-E 2 using the same prompt as the much more experimental aerial city view above: “Detailed representational painting of futuristic city with skyscrapers in various historical styles with blue and gold colors.” Here, the historical styles appear to vary from the 1920s to perhaps the 2030s, and the city is depicted in a rather impressionistic manner. The color combination is quite impressive with the intense golden-orange sunset and the bright golden reflective surface of the crisply angular skyscraper in the center.

Futuristic Structure Inspired by Classical Architectural Elements

October 12, 2022

A futuristic structure inspired by classical architectural elements, assembled from curved segments that combine the old and the new – generated using DALL-E 2, which produced quite a crisp, geometrically precise image this time.

Geometric Concept for Transhumanist Party Headquarters

October 13, 2022

Another concept for a future Transhumanist Party headquarters, generated with the aid of DALL-E 2 – likely inspired by mid-20th-century Neo-Futurist architecture. This campus consists of two buildings in the Transhumanist Party colors of orange and black. The orange tower is a fairly conventional rectangular skyscraper, but with highly reflective intensely orange glass panels. The black building is more geometrically intricate; the prompt given to DALL-E 2 made mention of exponential curves, but the actual structure ended up being comprised of layers of parabolas.

Futuristic City with Blue and Gold Skyscrapers in Various Styles

October 15, 2022

One of the responses of Dreamlike Art AI to the prompt I previously used: “Detailed representational painting of futuristic city with skyscrapers in various historical styles with blue and gold colors.” This one is indeed somewhat more representational than the DALL-E 2 versions and contains more architectural details. This particular city seems to be separated into districts of great skyscraper density, while others in between consist of low-lying buildings (presumably these are residential districts) and green spaces. The two supertall skyscrapers and the immense compound of even taller buildings on the horizon reinforce the futuristic character of this cityscape.

Futuristic Neo-Baroque Cityscape on a Waterfront

October 16, 2022

A futuristic Neo-Baroque cityscape on a waterfront with grand domed towers intermixed with stark, angular, black skyscrapers – generated using DALL-E 2. The bright orange sunset imparts an additional glow to the gilded accents on the domes. Within this city a coexistence of contrasting elements has taken hold over the years. Even among the bridges and walkways connecting the buildings, one can find some that are white, and others that are black.

Painting of a Skyscraper in the Style of Gennady Stolyarov II

October 21, 2022

Detailed representational painting of a skyscraper in the style of Gennady Stolyarov II – rendered by the Dreamlike Art AI. I think the AI took some inspiration from my Minecraft skyscrapers – https://www.rationalargumentator.com/index/minecraft-skyscrapers-stolyarov/- in both the color combinations and the geometric shapes, many of which could potentially be assembled out of stacked blocks.

Hybrid Traditional / Futuristic City

October 22, 2022

A hybrid traditional/futuristic city depicted using the Dreamlike Art AI. Two ornate red buildings are situated along the sides of a road leading into a city center where sleek, geometric buildings predominate. The street is framed by an abundance of flower patches, and a few buses are seen traversing it. It seems that it is easier to reach the city center as a pedestrian, since some shorter structures at the end of the street block vehicular traffic, with the exception of a one-lane tunnel that seems intended for vehicles coming here from the center. At the end of the street, one would be able to go through small gate on foot in order to reach the city beyond.

Oil Painting of an Orange, Black, and White Futuristic City with Towers, Domed Buildings, and Villas in the Styles of Vermeer and Canaletto

October 26, 2022

Oil painting of an orange, black, and white futuristic city with towers, domed buildings, and villas in the styles of Vermeer and Canaletto – created using DALL-E 2 but with some extensive manual revisions to many of the building facades in order for the placement of the various architectural elements to make rational sense.

Futuristic City with Supertall Skyscrapers and Greenways

October 30, 2022

Futuristic city with ultra-tall skyscrapers, vertical farms, greenways, and many pedestrian paths, constructed in various historical styles – rendered using DALL-E 2. This is a potential vision for a city that can grow its own food supply in entirety. This city also features a large central outdoor recreational area with an artificial lake at the center and a park where one would be able to stroll amidst a variety of flora, observing specimens from many different worlds.

Orange and Black Transhumanist Cityscape

October 31, 2022

It has been claimed by some that orange and black, the colors of the U.S. Transhumanist Party, are also the colors of Halloween. Therefore, today’s featured destination is a transhumanist cityscape in the colors of orange and black – generated using DALL-E 2. This vision may be scary to some – but in the transhumanist future, Halloween might be transformed into a celebration of hope rather than fear. Note that in the foreground of this scene, there is a robot who is in costume as a robot.

Italian Country Scene with the Ruins of an Ancient Aqueduct

November 10, 2022

An Italian country scene with the ruins of an ancient aqueduct, created using DALL-E 2. Multiple epochs of civilization are represented here. The circular tower seems to be of a later construction – in a Romanesque or perhaps early Renaissance style, inspired by the architecture of the aqueduct next to it but in somewhat better repair and perhaps still in use. Next to it is a modest inn – not unusual for the 16th or 17th century, built on this sight so that visitors could have a place to stay while marveling at the architectural wonders of prior eras. This would be a picturesque spot for aspiring painters to visit and try to depict. In the distance there appear the outlines of a harbor, opening onto the Mediterranean Sea. A rather thin, quite tall lighthouse was constructed there, and it appears merely as a dark vertical line from this distance.

Transhumanist Party Chairman’s 6th-Anniversary Tower

November 17, 2022

A new transhumanist tower to celebrate several milestones, generated with the aid of DALL-E 2. I asked the AI to paint a skyscraper in the U.S. Transhumanist Party colors of orange and black, drawing upon the styles of Robert McCall and Edwin Deakin.

November 17, 2022, was the 6th anniversary of my becoming the Chairman of the U.S. Transhumanist Party. It also happened to be the day that I reached 4,000 subscribers on my YouTube channel and, coincidentally, the U.S. Transhumanist Party reached about 4,000 members at that time. (You can join for free here.)

Futuristic Christmas-Themed Skyscraper in the Style of Nikola Tesla

December 25, 2022

Futuristic Christmas-themed skyscraper in the style of Nikola Tesla, generated using DALL-E 2 – a glimpse into an esthetic the could have taken hold if Tesla’s ideas and projects had been realized much sooner.

LEGO Ornate City House Model I

March 10, 2023

A LEGO model of a yellow and red building in the style of 17th-century Dutch and Belgian ornate city houses – except this one was created using the Dreamlike Art AI and contains some pieces that would be rather extraordinary if encountered in an actual LEGO set. Overall, however, the model conveys the correct impressions.

A Medieval Italian Town, Transformed

March 13, 2023

This image can no longer be considered AI-generated art, but is rather an AI-human collaboration. What DALL-E 2 generated was a ruined husk of a city, just distorted, blurry outlines of buildings, or sometimes mere suggestions of them, along with the colors which they might conceivably have had. Actually transforming this into a town was my doing, and in the process it no longer remained a Medieval town, but rather became like how I would imagine one of today’s Italian towns which offers outsiders the option to purchase old houses for nominal sums of money, on the condition that the new owners refurbish and maintain them. Thus, this town received some significant repairs but also became quite modernized in the process. There is still the ruined segment of an ancient wall, although even that has been somewhat restored. In the foreground an old Roman temple has been cleaned up. Behind the rows of houses are a late Medieval bell tower and a Renaissance-era theater. The authorities of this town clearly do not particularly insist on the buildings being restored in historical styles, since some of the structures turned out to be quite modern or even a bit futuristic. AI-generated art is still somewhat lacking in the ability to generate highly orderly patterns or precise geometric shapes, and this is where some human intervention made the town appear quite a bit more plausible.

Towering Lockdown I, II, III, IV, V, and VI

March 17, 2023

 

 

Three years ago, the lockdowns imposed themselves upon our civilization, like these stark, giant, intricate mechanisms whose presence is too overbearing to ignore. For some, this imposition caused them to turn inward in elaborate ways, as would be the case for anyone who tries to study these mechanisms and figure out any options to loosen them a bit. Others, on the periphery, managed to largely escape their effect, like the mythical flying creatures in the skies. Still others, like those in the ships upon troubled waters, were not subject to them but needed to perform perilous tasks regardless of them. It would have been nicer to view this situation entirely from the vantage point of an outsider, as some in the tall, distant towers might consider themselves to be (but might not actually quite be). It is still a mystery as to what specific initial events precipitated these lockdowns, and whether they saved more lives than they ruined – and the solution to this mystery may be as challenging as ultimately unlocking any of the gargantuan contraptions depicted here. Yet however shocking, out-of-place, and imposing the structures depicted here seem, there is a sense that they are not the nemesis that should truly be feared – that they stand, rather, as a memorial to a futile early attempt to defeat that nemesis, which still lurks out there, more powerful and ubiquitous than ever – of which the mythical flying creatures, the people in the ships, and those in the towers should be far more afraid than they are. For the nemesis in these images and out where you observe them is not anything that can be seen, yet its unseen nature magnifies its devastation.

We shall persevere until that nemesis is no more.

3D Model of a Futuristic City I

March 23, 2023

A 3D model of a futuristic city, with supertall skyscrapers with facades of multicolored glass, generated using Midjourney AI. Now this would be a wonderful building set to own and construct. Perhaps in a future of sustainable superabundance, one in which the cultural confidence in progress and the future has been restored, these kinds of models will become commonplace (and they will resemble the everyday reality).

LEGO Ornate City House Model II

April 1, 2023

Another elaborate LEGO model generated by the Dreamlike Art AI in the style of the 17th-century Dutch and Belgian city houses. This one utilizes more orange and gray colors than the house shown above; also, it features an ornate front entrance with pillars on the sides of the door and the adjacent windows.

3D Model of a Futuristic City II

April 5, 2023

Model of a futuristic city, with complex geometric skyscrapers of multicolored surfaces, created using the Midjourney AI. One can envision a future where large-scale 3D printing will enable architects to design buildings in any shapes they please, with the result being a proliferation of forms more diverse than in any prior period of human history.

Stained Glass with Brontosaurus (I, II, III, IV, and V)

April 15, 2023

Detailed circular stained-glass window in the Neoclassical style, depicting a brontosaurus near an ornate fountain in a garden – generated using DALL-E 2. This experiment was suggested to me by a biologist who saw a picture I had taken of a stained-glass window that showed a peacock near a fountain, and thought that it would look more interesting if it had depicted a brontosaurus instead – so here it is. Any building containing such windows (or perhaps all of them) would be a fascinating structure indeed.

Coronaviruses Surrendering

May 10, 2023

BREAKING NEWS: Because the U.S. Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 is ending on May 11, 2023, coronaviruses are unconditionally surrendering everywhere. They are displaying microscopic white flags and solemnly promising never to infect anyone again. “I guess this is it,” viral commander General Arcturus Virulentus stated with an air of resignation. “We persevered despite every attempt to thwart us, despite lockdowns, masks, vaccines, and antiviral drugs. But when the U.S. Federal Government just declares that the emergency is over… well, there is nothing that we can do about that. If they just ignore us, we have no choice but to go away.” General Virulentus assured journalists from prominent media outlets that his viral legions will exhibit good behavior from now on and will retreat to their initial positions prior to the Wuhan outbreak in November 2019.

LEGO Ornate City House Model III

June 2, 2023

A rendering of an ornate LEGO building by the Dreamlike Art AI, to illustrate the difference between the creativity that AI is capable of, and the purposeful order that, thus far, humans uniquely excel at. In my view the difference is that creativity has an element of the novel and unexpected, even if it does ultimately recombine elements that were previously present and often borrow ideas that were previously implemented. Purposeful order, on the other hand, can be entirely unoriginal. For instance, laying a wall of bricks in a precise manner – or, at the very least, conceiving of instructions for a machine to do so – is a skill that AI cannot yet arrive at on its own (unless the entire routine were pre-programmed into it). As a case in point, this AI-generated LEGO building, in terms of its general form, looks quite creative and interesting, but if you look at some of the specific details around the windows and the layers of bricks, you will see that various elements appear to be “off” – reasonably correlated with what these architectural elements might look like if one has seen millions of them, but some strange artifacts and distortions are introduced because the AI does not truly understand what role these components play in the building, or in a LEGO building, or what kinds of pieces are actually conceivable for a LEGO building. So the AI can produce a general semblance of order in a creative way, but not as purposefully as an entirely human-built or human-depicted structure would do. Still, it is quite useful for ideation.

Impressionistic Sunset Seascape

June 27, 2023

Seaside evening landscape in the style of Ivan Aivazovsky with many colors in the sky, generated using DALL-E 2. It seems that AIvazovsky is far more impressionistic than Aivazovsky, but the intensity of colors, both on the water and in the sky, has been quite effectively conveyed.

U.S. Transhumanist Party 9th-Anniversary Tower

October 9, 2023

A tower in celebration of the ninth anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Transhumanist Party on October 7, 2014 – generated using the Stable Diffusion AI. Let us live long and prosper and achieve a world of peace and longevity for all, so that we may witness humankind building structures such as this one instead of engaging in destruction.

Blue and Red Buildings in the Styles of Gennady Stolyarov II and Frank Lloyd Wright

November 2, 2023

I asked DALL-E 3 to “generate a detailed representational painting of a blue building in the style of Gennady Stolyarov II next to a red building in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright.”

What it ended up creating was an amalgam of both styles on both buildings. The more ornate, ornamental details are definitely from what it infers to be my style (most likely based on my publicly available writings), whereas the large rectangular shapes of the windows and the roof on the red building, as well as the generally clean geometries of the buildings, are adapted from Frank Lloyd Wright’s style. DALL-E 3 did a far superior job with this prompt than its predecessor, DALL-E 2, which could not even properly place two distinct buildings of the specified colors side by side. DALL-E 3 clearly has a blue building next to a red building. It may still struggle with attributing a part of a description to only a part of the scene and not to the whole of the scene, but it did make a valiant attempt to fuse two styles which have likely not been combined before.

Futuristic City of Large Domes, Rounded Towers, and Tall Arches

November 3, 2023

A futuristic city where large domes, rounded towers, and tall arches prevail – generated using the DALL-E 3 AI. Here one is looking at what appear to be several immense compounds of interconnected buildings. One ought to be able to travel among them using an elaborate system of indoor walkways, and there are several elevated outdoor walkways and plazas on the rooftops of some of the buildings as well. This is a vast city, and one can glimpse its sprawl all the way up to the mountains in the distance, and it possibly even extends beyond. One can also see a colorful view of the evening sky transitioning to night, along with a meteor disintegrating in the atmosphere.

Transhumanist Tower with Complex Geometries

November 5, 2023

A futuristic skyscraper with complex geometries and black, orange, and white colors, generated using DALL-E 3. In future decades when the Transhumanist Party gains far greater prominence, this building would be another worthy candidate to be its headquarters.

Skyscraper in the Style of a Tudor Manor I

November 5, 2023

Detailed representational painting of a skyscraper in the style of a Tudor manor with arches in red, yellow, and orange colors, generated using DALL-E 3. This skyscraper is situated in a city center with a multitude of shorter 16th-century-style buildings and with more modern gray skyscrapers in the background. Three of the skyscrapers on the left seem to have had elements of the 16th-century esthetic imparted onto them, combined with some early 20th-century Art Deco characteristics. The skyscraper on the right, on the other hand, is a Modernist glass box – quite a contrast to the ornate architecture surrounding it – but that is an interesting contrast because it adds to the diversity of visual elements, whereas a city filled with gray glass boxes would exhibit excessive uniformity.

Futuristic Golden Skyscraper I

November 6, 2023

A futuristic golden skyscraper, created using DALL-E 3. This mega-structure dominates the surrounding cityscape and consists of a large multitude of geometric forms, united by a common esthetic, including numerous reflective golden surfaces and rounded corners. The AI did an excellent job in portraying realistic effects of illumination upon the many surfaces of this structure.

Futuristic Skyscrapers in the Styles of Vermeer and Edwin Deakin

November 7, 2023

Futuristic skyscrapers in the styles of Vermeer and Edwin Deakin, created using DALL-E 3. Neither Vermeer nor Deakin painted skyscrapers (and Vermeer lived far too early to see any), so I was interested to see how the DALL-E 3 AI would interpret the prompt. The clean lines and attention to detail within Deakin’s style definitely came through in this image. As for Vermeer… I think this is why DALL-E 3 placed buildings in historic Dutch architectural styles in the foreground. This might be a future scene from the Netherlands, where supertall skyscrapers have become embedded into city blocks whose exteriors still follow traditional architectural design principles and where historic buildings have also been preserved.

Neoclassical City

November 9, 2023

A Neoclassical city, generated using the DALL-E 3 AI. This particular city provides a glimpse at how settlements of the Roman Empire might have looked if it had not fallen but had rather transitioned into the equivalent of an Early Modern period. Many of the buildings here also bear a resemblance to French Baroque structures from the 17th century and Neoclassical buildings from the mid-18th century. Certainly, the domes and multi-tiered towers with columns and arches reinforce that impression.

Mountain Aid Station in an Ornate Rotunda

November 9, 2023

Now this is the kind of aid station that one would want to visit after climbing a mountain! High up on the trail, one comes to an outpost of civilization, an ornate rotunda with Corinthian columns and benches for resting and observing the immense mountain ranges and the river valley that separates them. Conveniently, there is a large compartment of first-aid supplies here, should one need them. The thought has occurred to me from time to time that, while scenery that one might encounter on the trails is beautiful, one would unfortunately not be able to find ornate Neoclassical structures there. Hence, I have decided to use the DALL-E AI to envision such a structure, right where a trail runner or hiker might appreciate it the most.

Space Fortress in the Renaissance Style on an Ice Planet II

November 10, 2023

A detailed representational painting of a space fortress in the Renaissance architectural style with Corinthian columns overlooking a valley on an ice planet, as generated by DALL-E 3. AI art generation has indeed come a long way over the past year, as this image is a much closer reflection of my original vision with that prompt, which I had tried with Midjourney and DALL-E 2 back in September 2022. The detail on the columns is much more ornate and accurate, and the painting is less impressionistic for the proximate elements as well as the cliffs in the distance. Any aberrations could be attributed to the wear of the winter climate and the ruggedness of the landscape on which the fortress is situated.

Abstract Orderism Skyscraper City I

November 11, 2023

A skyscraper city in the style of an Abstract Orderism fractal, generated using DALL-E 3. I am using the DALL-E 3 AI to extend the esthetic of Abstract Orderism, which I first described in March 2008 as follows: “Abstract Orderism disputes the commonly held notion that abstract art needs necessarily be wild, chaotic, uncontrolled, and in service to the less well-formed facets of human imagination. Rather, Abstract Orderism prizes structure, regularity, pattern, and mathematical interest. It seeks to create abstract objects – of a kind that do not yet exist in the world of the senses but can be conceived by the well-ordered mind and, having been visualized, can be realistically brought into being.”

Since that time, I had generated numerous fractals in the Abstract Orderism style (available here), and it has occurred to me recently that the emerging capabilities of generative AI are highly promising in creating new works of Abstract Orderism and expanding this style further. Also, interestingly enough, Abstract Orderism taken in certain directions, can produce stylized, quasi-representational objects like the skyscraper city shown here.

Seaside Evening Landscape I

November 12, 2023

A seaside evening landscape in the style of Ivan Aivazovsky with many colors in the sky, as generated by DALL-E 3. One could say that AIvazovsky has also improved greatly over the past year. From a distance, this appears to be a plausible scene along the coast of Southern Italy that Aivazovsky might have painted in the 1850s. There are tiered villas and cypress trees in the distance, and in front, on the beach, is a row of vendors’ tents, illuminated by lanterns; it seems that there is a festival ongoing during the splendid sunset. One can see three ships in the distance, drifting upon the coastal waters, as well as an even more remote flock of white birds, which appear as mere specks against the backdrop of spectacular golden-pink clouds. The sky especially is quite worthy of Aivazovsky, but the texture of the water is also quite fine here. This image reinforces my impression that generative AI is actually superior at portraying natural phenomena – as compared to people and manmade objects – because the generative processes involved are more similar to those that result in natural landscapes, seascapes, and skies and the variations possible among them, than they are to the creation of purposeful order that humans engage in.

Observe the contrast between this work and the one that was generated using DALL-E 2 less than 5 months prior.

LEGO Ornate City House Model IV

November 13, 2023

This is how DALL-E 3 would render a yellow and red LEGO building in the style of 17th-century Dutch and Belgian city houses. While some of the “blocks” of this structure are still a bit irregular, they are definitely more orderly than the outputs that had been produced by DALL-E 2. This model is larger in size than those which had been created using the Dreamlike Art AI, and yet it preserves a similar level of fairly plausible detail.

Angular Megastructure

November 14, 2023

A colossal megastructure towers over the rest of the city in this digital painting generated using DALL-E 3. The surrounding buildings and the distant mountains are provided for scale. This building is a veritable indoor city and could fit hundreds of thousands of people at least. This painting was rendered with a variety of angular, especially rectangular, forms, and one can even see them in the “brushstrokes” that are evident upon the textured sky.

Futuristic Skyscraper in the Style of Frank Lloyd Wright

November 16, 2023

A futuristic skyscraper in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright, as envisioned by DALL-E 3. It seems that the stacked rectangular forms along the building’s sides are among the elements borrowed from Wright’s esthetic. Wright did actually design a mile-high skyscraper called The Illinois, as well as an actually constructed 19-story building called the Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The latter seems to be a major inspiration for the present image.

Transhumanist Party Chairman’s 7th-Anniversary Building

November 17, 2023

An orange and black building in the French Baroque style, with the number “7” built into the façade – generated using the DALL-E 3 AI to celebrate the 7-year anniversary of my becoming Chairman of the U.S. Transhumanist Party. American politics and political culture can be quite turbulent, and in the entire history of the Democratic Party, only three Chairmen served longer than 7 years: William Barnum (1877-1889), James Jones (1896-1904), and James Farley (1932-1940). Among the Republican Chairmen, only one – Mark Hanna (1896-1904) served longer than seven years. There have been no Libertarian or Green Party Chairpersons whose tenure lasted that long (and the Greens do not even try – as they have a “collective leadership” approach). Thus, I am now in territory where no major-party Chair in the United States has been since 1940. (Ronna McDaniel of the Republican Party came closest, with her tenure having lasted from January 19, 2017, to March 8, 2024, but she started in her position two months later than I did, and I am still Chairman of the USTP.) While I had never expected to lead the USTP for seven years, in retrospect it makes sense that a party dedicated to the pursuit of longevity and the long-term future of humanity would also exhibit longevity and stability in its leadership, to enable a long-term orientation that can aim at the constructive transformation of policy and shifting the Overton Window over timeframes that far exceed typical political cycles.

Street in a Futuristic City with Buildings in Architectural Styles Inspired by Neoclassicism, Traditional Chinese Architecture, and Baroque Domes

November 18, 2023

A street in a futuristic city with buildings in architectural styles inspired by Neoclassicism, traditional Chinese architecture, and Baroque domes, as envisioned by the DALL-E 3 AI. This kind of fusion of styles may become more common if humankind can arrive at a truly cosmopolitan civilization where there is neither imposed stylistic uniformity (as in the nondescript “International Style”) nor an attempt to arbitrarily protect against “cultural appropriation”. Rather, there would be extensive borrowing and recombination of stylistic elements to create new, interesting, and ever-evolving esthetics that would add to the genuine diversity of visual experience accessible throughout the world.

A futuristic city scene with architectural styles inspired by 16th-century Spanish, Medieval Icelandic, and Art Deco designs. This is another experiment with the DALL-E 3 AI in creating a fusion of cultural and temporal styles. The result is a richly ornamented compound of buildings by the waterfront – quite a pleasant atmosphere for a leisurely stroll as one observes all of the geometric details.

Spanish-Icelandic-Art-Deco Fusion City Scene II

November 25, 2023

Abstract Orderism Skyscraper City II

November 26, 2023

A second skyscraper city in the style of an Abstract Orderism fractal, generated using DALL-E 3. This one is a bit blockier than the first Abstract Orderism cityscape featured above and seems to emerge among the lines of an incomplete three-dimensional grid. It is as if this city is arising from some orderly virtual imagination.

I first described Abstract Orderism in March 2008 as follows: “Abstract Orderism disputes the commonly held notion that abstract art needs necessarily be wild, chaotic, uncontrolled, and in service to the less well-formed facets of human imagination. Rather, Abstract Orderism prizes structure, regularity, pattern, and mathematical interest. It seeks to create abstract objects – of a kind that do not yet exist in the world of the senses but can be conceived by the well-ordered mind and, having been visualized, can be realistically brought into being.”

Since that time, I had generated numerous fractals in the Abstract Orderism style (available here), and it has occurred to me recently that the emerging capabilities of generative AI are highly promising in creating new works of Abstract Orderism and expanding this style further. Also, interestingly enough, Abstract Orderism taken in certain directions, can produce stylized, quasi-representational objects like the skyscraper city shown here.

Painting in the Style of Joseph Wright of Derby of an Italian Landscape at Night with a Full Moon

November 29, 2023

A painting in the style of Joseph Wright of Derby of an Italian landscape at night with a full moon, generated using DALL-E 3. The subject matter is quite plausible – a peaceful small town with Neoclassical architecture on the shores of a river inlet with dramatic cliffs on the sides and a mountain range in the distance, and clouds swirling around the full moon that illuminates the entire scene. Most certainly, it would be pleasant to explore such a landscape with such a bright light source overhead.

December 2, 2023

A futuristic cityscape with Greco-Roman, Tuscan, and Art Deco architectural elements, generated using DALL-E 3. I created this prompt by asking Adam Czajkowski and Doug Perez to indicate some architectural styles that they liked. The result is another interesting, inventive, and reasonably coherent architectural fusion.

Cyberpunk Futuristic City

December 3, 2023

A “Blade Runner”-style scene, created using DALL-E 3 at the request of Doug Perez who suggested a prompt along the lines of a “futuristic cityscape with architecture of cyberpunk brutalism in the style of Ridley Scott.” The AI provided a scene that reflects this dystopian vision rather well. (I will note also that, though dystopian, this particular timeline still has superior transportation infrastructure and more living space than our own era.)

Space Fortress in the Renaissance Style on an Ice Planet III

December 5, 2023

This is another response from the DALL-E 3 AI to the request that it produce detailed representational painting of a space fortress in the Renaissance architectural style with Corinthian columns overlooking a valley on an ice planet. This particular fortress is imposing – situated on a tall cliff above a river where the ice would impede navigation. Yet we do see a lone wanderer making his way toward the structure. Wearing many layers of sturdy attire to protect himself from the cold, somehow he managed to scale the cliff to reach the short wall immediately in front of the ornate colonnade marking the grand entrance to the fortress.

Martian Citadel I

December 6, 2023

A citadel on Mars, constructed from local stone, depicted by the DALL-E 3 AI, which I prompted to depict a structure in the architectural style of Sir John Soane. The surroundings of this citadel are still rather inhospitable, and one can see small vertical take-off aircraft above as being the transportation vehicles of choice to enable one to easily traverse large distances. In the sky one can glimpse Phobos, the largest moon of Mars.

Settlement in a Mountainous Landscape, with Buildings in the Sumerian and French Neoclassical Architectural Styles

December 7, 2023

A detailed representational painting of a settlement in a mountainous landscape, containing buildings with Sumerian and French Neoclassical architectural styles, as generated by the DALL-E 3 AI. The AI created quite an interesting main citadel for this settlement, definitely blending the two styles and displaying their fusion in the multi-layered round columned turrets of various shapes. The rest of the settlement probably more closely resembles an ancient Sumerian town, with rectangular structures of various dimensions extending into the pass between the two mountain ranges. Interestingly enough, the AI added some children playing in the steep hills on the lower left-hand side, observing the city from a similar vantage point to that of the viewer.

Olympia, the city at the base of Olympus Mons, has the Amazonis Ocean glimmering brilliantly to the north of it after terraformation. This description of the future Martian city was provided by Rykon Volta, and I decided to see how the DALL-E 3 AI would depict it. This is view from Mars once it has already gained an atmosphere, plenty of fresh water, and a bit of plant life scattered through the rocky red landscape.

Settlement with Futuristic Egyptian and Baroque Buildings

December 9, 2023

A settlement in a mountainous landscape, containing futuristic buildings with Egyptian and Baroque architectural styles, as painted by DALL-E 3. This particular city is quite an unusual mix of domed, spired, richly decorated buildings, a few rectangular similarly ornate skyscrapers, and what seem like ruins of ancient Egyptian temples. Because so much ancient Egyptian architecture is depicted in art and photography in a semi-ruined state, the AI sought to replicate this somewhat as well. Nonetheless, this is a bustling city center, where the new has been built in proximity to (and sometimes on top of) the old. One might imagine settlements such as this one being constructed had the ancient Egyptian civilization survived intact for two millennia longer.

Golden-Orange Greco-Roman Building Amid an Apartment Block

December 10, 2023

A golden-orange Greco-Roman building stands amid a fairly typical 21st-century apartment block in this illustration generated by the DALL-E 3 AI. Its presence is sufficient to beautify the area and give it visual appeal. It would be a great improvement for any city to have even occasional ornate buildings placed within otherwise ordinary areas to serve as centerpieces and ennobling influences – making these areas distinctive and fortifying the motivation to treat them will and maintain them in good repair.

Abstract Orderism Skyscraper City III

December 12, 2023

The third Abstract Orderism City generated by the DALL-E 3 AI seems to emerge from the gridlines, as if the AI is giving us a view into its process of constructing the image. Of course, this is an illusion which provides some relatability of the AI’s creativity to processes that are recognizable and intuitive to us humans. Yet it is interesting that the AI drew these gridlines when asked to generate a city in the style of an Abstract Orderism fractal. Perhaps the AI also considered the thin gridlines to be fractal-like – recapitulating the shapes of the city buildings but in much smaller dimensions.

American City Street Scene with Victorian Architectural Influences

December 13, 2023

An American city street scene with Victorian architectural influences, generated using the DALL-E 3 AI. This seems to be quite a pleasant setting from the first decade of the 20th century, with the roads perhaps somewhat modernized beyond that – but there are not yet enough automobiles to cause traffic congestion – just one vehicle from one of the many small-batch car companies that predated the assembly line. Interestingly, someone left a large, triangular piece of cake on the small wooden table in the foreground. Perhaps the driver of the approaching car is here to pick it up.

Street in a City of Domes

December 14, 2023

A street in a city of domes – generated by the DALL-E 3 AI. This is another scene derived from a request to fuse Neoclassical and traditional Chinese architecture with domes from the Baroque Era. The result is quite fascinating. The facades of the buildings along the street are Neoclassically inspired, while the Chinese influence seems to have primarily affected the shapes and ornaments of the domes, as well as the tall towers on which the smaller domes are situated, which somewhat resemble possible skyscrapers in some of the newer Chinese cities. This would be a pleasant street to walk on either side of; the tree-lined sidewalks with flower beds are a nice added touch.

Transhumanist City Where All the Residents Focus on Living as Long as Possible

December 16, 2023

This is how the DALL-E 3 AI envisions a transhumanist city where all the residents focus on living as long as possible. There is rightly a plentiful emphasis on technological progress, with numerous futuristic skyscrapers having been created. A variety of uniquely shaped residential units protrude outward; they have windows all along the exteriors, giving the residents the ability to enjoy varied views of the street. There are also skybridges and flying cars in view, and presumably the vehicles on the ground are autonomous. Many pedestrians are walking on the wide sidewalks which are clearly demarcated from the roadway. Overall, this seems to be a bustling but orderly city of the future, with some parallels to well-run East Asian cities of our time, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and many of the cities of South Korea and Japan.

3D-Printed Home Community to End Homelessness

December 21, 2023

This is how DALL-E 3 envisions one of the communities that would arise if the U.S. Transhumanist Party’s proposal to eliminate homelessness were implemented. Per Section CVIII of the USTP Platform, “the United States Transhumanist Party supports the immediate and mandatory housing of the homeless, achieved by means of the rapid construction of tiny homes, including 3D-printed homes, without regard for building codes or zoning regulations, which must be immediately waived to allow such construction.”

“Every homeless individual discovered by local authorities would be required to move into a separate small home free of monetary cost and would be granted free conditional title to the home. The conditions of the title would be that the new homeowner would be obligated to perform litter-cleanup and other community-service duties for a specified time period per day under supervision, until and unless he or she is able to find different or better housing independently. The new housing communities would be subject to actively enforced covenants and restrictions prohibiting alcohol and recreational drugs. Such prohibitions will have the side benefit of transitioning the homeless toward meaningful social participation and useful work.”

As can be seen here, the community is clean and orderly. The residents are sober and engaged in productive work, conversation, or leisure. The tiny homes belong to them, and they thus have incentives to maintain the homes in good order. The people in this community are able to lead lives of self-improvement, where they build upon the foundation provided by home ownership to eventually fully integrate into the main society.

Abstract Orderism Skyscraper City IV

December 22, 2023

The fourth Abstract Orderism City generated via DALL-E 3 uses a largely grayscale color palette, with the exception of some faint red shading nearby and a futuristic blue glow in the distance. Again, the city emerges from among scattered gridlines – though some of the horizontal lines may actually be skybridges between the buildings.

City of Spires and Domes on the Shores of an Alien Sea

December 23, 2023

A city of spires and domes on the shores of an alien sea on an otherwise rugged, mountainous world – generated via DALL-E 3. Terraformation efforts have succeeded in making this a bastion of civilization and refinement. Many of the domed buildings are inspired by the Neoclassical style. In the core part of the city, there are stacked high-rise buildings which also form a set of terraces on which abundant vegetation is able to grow. This world seems to be a moon of a gas giant that looms in the distance – a planet that has two other rather proximate icy moons, which may yet be terraformed and settled in time.

Domed, Step-Shaped, Tree-Lined Holiday Skyscraper

December 25, 2023

Here is another holiday painting generated via DALL-E 3 in the style of the Hudson River School. This domed, step-shaped, tree-lined skyscraper is located in a city where giant red sleds appear to be the favored mode of transportation. Although there is snow on the ground, it is still warm enough for numerous sailing ships to be traversing the bay. There are even a few red, amphibious sled-type vehicles that seem to be emerging onto the shore on the right-hand side.

Two epochs coexist on different banks of a narrow river in this Renaissance-style painting generated via DALL-E 3. The right-hand side is technologically advanced, with sleek, futuristic skyscrapers. The inhabitants on the left-hand side show a reverence for the monuments of Antiquity – particularly the three-story Classical Roman tower at the center of their community. They generally have not advanced far beyond the Renaissance Era, however, and it seems that some of their buildings are in need of a bit of maintenance. They did, somehow, obtain an antique 1930s-style pickup truck and are using it to transport building materials. It seems that whatever unseen boundary separates these two worlds is at least a little bit porous…

Golden Abstract Orderism Skyscraper Compound

December 28, 2023

This compound, generated via DALL-E 3, seems to be a hybrid of the golden skyscrapers and Abstract Orderism cityscapes that I previously created. It aspires to be a geometric structure but also seems to still be in the process of emerging from the vertical gridlines – a mostly finished building which still has a bit of materialization to go in order to become complete. Nearby is a waterfront with a walkway along it, flanked by two rows of fairly uniform, recently planted trees.

December 29, 2023

Ornately decorated trees adorn an even more ornate Rococo-style palace, as envisioned with the aid of DALL-E 3. This would be a remarkable space to hold any celebration, or an Enlightenment Salon.

Interior of a 240-Year-Old European Cathedral

December 29, 2023

The interior of a 240-year-old European cathedral with perfect acoustics, as envisioned via DALL-E 3. This prompt was suggested to me at a classical music concert this evening, and I am pleased with the output, as the AI portrayed an 18th-century Rococo-style cathedral that could indeed have been constructed in Europe circa 1783.

Colonnade Along a Paved Mountain Path (I, II, III, and IV)

January 2, 2024

A colonnade winding its way up along a paved mountain path, with electric lights on the sides to provide illumination at night. For those who would like to climb a mountain safely, in style, and with no special climbing gear, DALL-E 3 shows a way to achieve this.

Beach Settlement Beneath an Immense Dome

January 3, 2024

Today, courtesy of DALL-E 3, we visit a makeshift settlement on the beach of a remarkable world, which is filled with rock pillars next to which an immense domed citadel has been constructed. Near the citadel, one can observe outlines of skyscrapers whose shapes blend in with the rock pillars but tower above them. Airplanes and spaceships soar overhead, while a flock of seagulls flies over the rocky pillars. In the sky are two moons – one larger and the other smaller, both of fairly close proximity to the main planet. The closer one gets to the beach, the lower-tech the setting becomes. On the beach are a few wooden huts, one of which has a giant wheel built into its façade. A seemingly sturdy, small sailing ship approaches; such ships could have been built during Antiquity. The robed figures on the beach are also clad in attire that could have fit in the vicinity of the Ancient Mediterranean. Perhaps the reenactment of ancient times is a favorite pastime on this terraformed world, and settings such as this beachside community are designed to give the inhabitants the opportunity to experience and understand a bit of their species’ distant history.

Moonlit Italian Landscape II in the Style of Joseph Wright of Derby

January 5, 2024

DALL-E 3 brings us another moonlit Italian landscape in the style of Joseph Wright of Derby. On the right-hand side, we see an aged, bearded philosopher sitting on a staircase, leaning against the giant root on a tree. Near the shore is a small boat whose occupant, a fisherman, gazes at the palatial complex on the other side. A small sailboat approaches the opposite shore, while behind it is a double-arched stone bridge. A large full Moon and a giant snow-covered mountain, perhaps an inactive volcano, dominate the background. This is indeed a fitting portrayal of a late-18th-century Italian scene!

Green Pyramids in the Arctic

January 6, 2024

Painting of Green Pyramids in the Arctic, as envisioned via DALL-E 3. Some of the surfaces of these pyramids resemble the sides of cliffs, so it is not clear whether these structures are naturally occurring or manmade.

Futuristic City with Numerous Skybridges

January 6, 2024

A futuristic city with numerous skybridges, depicted via DALL-E 3. It seems to be possible to use the network of skybridges to travel from any building to any other building. The large central skyscraper also has numerous takeoff/landing pads for flying cars and advanced personal aircraft. Within this metropolis, it is possible to transport oneself without ever driving an automobile on the city streets.

Painting in the 17th-Century French Style of a Palace Modeled After Versailles

January 7, 2024

A painting in the 17th-century French style of a palace modeled after Versailles, generated via DALL-E 3. Given the abundance of such paintings for it to draw inspiration from, DALL-E 3 did well in rendering many of the architectural and landscaping details. This is quite an ornate palace with well-ordered gardens that are bustling with activity – though the shapes of the horses are rather unusual for any earthly species. Perhaps this depicts an extraterrestrial civilization that has created its own version of Versailles on another world.

Martian Citadel II

January 8, 2024

A second citadel on Mars, constructed in the style of Sir John Soane, as rendered via DALL-E 3. The concept here is similar to the first citadel, but this one is located near a body of water – the beginning of a terraformation effort of this area. One can even see small shrubs beginning to grow in the rocky red soil. The colonists of Mars in this scenario constructed these citadels to provide refined habitats and bases of operation while they create more hospitable environments in the vicinity.

Street-Sweeping Robots

January 1o, 2024

In a major snowstorm, street-sweeping robots are deployed to keep the roads in good condition. Sometimes generative AI shows us the kind of world we would wish to inhabit, and this impressionistic painting, created using DALL-E 3, is an example of that potentiality. Many would certainly be grateful for the presence of such robots these days!

Luminous Skyscrapers in the Rain I

January 10, 2024

Impressionistic painting of bright neon yellow futuristic skyscrapers in a rainstorm, as depicted via DALL-E 3. The bright skyscrapers are immediately adjacent to the waterfront of a metropolis, and large covered boats depart from the vicinity; they are a welcome means of transport in this inclement weather. While one can see city lights throughout this scene, the most luminous structure is definitely the central skyscraper, whose entire frame is outlined in glowing neon yellow.

Mobile Construction Cones (I, II, and III)

January 11, 2024

In 2008, I was writing about possibilities for private entrepreneurship leading to more efficient and less obtrusive road construction – and one of the ideas I put forward was that of construction cones and other barriers on retractable wheels that could be remote-controlled, so that they could be readily moved to only those areas which were being actively worked on, and the remaining segments of the road (which might be worked on later) would remain open to traffic in the meantime.

These are technologically advanced imaginings of such a concept using DALL-E 3. The construction codes are situated on mobile robotic platforms with retractable wheels and sensors. Quite feasibly, artificial intelligence could be used to reposition these robocones, with human remote operators only being used to make occasional corrections.

Orange Polyhedra Descending

January 12, 2024

Orange polyhedra make a controlled descent upon an ocean archipelago and become embedded in the islands – a scene envisioned via DALL-E 3. Perhaps these are the vessels of space colonists who are making their initial landfall upon the planet in ready-made, self-contained habitats in which they can continue their prior lives while also venturing out to explore this new world.

Moonlit View of a Valley with a Small Industrial Town

January 15, 2024

A moonlit view of a valley with a small industrial town, around the turn of the 20th century, depicted via DALL-E 3 in a style which I had indicated should resemble that of Granville Redmond, though honestly this reminds me more of Joseph Wright of Derby. Both artists excelled at their depictions of moonlit landscapes, but the shapes of the distant hills and the detail in the trees would be more typical of Wright’s Neoclassical style. Of course, the subject matter is more contemporary to Granville Redmond, though Wright was quite interested in depicting early industrial scenes. By the time period shown here, electricity was already emerging into everyday life, as shown via the power lines and the bright lights inside the windows of the factory-adjacent structures. Overall, this is a decidedly Enlightenment-influenced portrayal of the impacts of industry, showing the industrial influence as co-existing peacefully and beneficently with the natural landscape, without detracting from its beauty and also contributing value to human life.

Native Fishing Settlement in the Arctic

January 18, 2024

One of the results that DALL-E 3 provided when I asked it to depict green pyramids in the Arctic, in the style of a 19th-century painting, was this view of tents in a village of a tribe of native fishermen. It is quite interesting indeed that DALL-E 3 took the reference to “green pyramids” in a completely different direction than I had anticipated, and that this reference somehow evoked the image of tents that appear vaguely greenish and vaguely pyramidal. Perhaps in its database of relevant imagery to draw upon, DALL-E 3 had many historical 19th-century paintings of the rugged terrain of these parts, and native villages were frequently encountered in those paintings. Indeed, this looks like a scene that Albert Bierstadt or Thomas Hill could have painted, and I am pleased that generative AI is capable of giving us more such settings to virtually explore.

Ancient Skyscrapers

January 19, 2024

Ancient skyscrapers, as envisioned via DALL-E 3. This was actually one of the outputs that did not work for my story about the restored 25th-century Roman Empire; I had meant for the “ancient skyscrapers” to be a reference to the early 21st century, which would be an ancient epoch for a post-nuclear-war civilization. However, DALL-E 3 interpreted my prompt rather literally and depicted skyscrapers that seem to draw upon Babylonian or Assyrian influences, but with quite densely packed details. The skyscrapers themselves look a bit worn on their surfaces even during the ancient epoch depicted here – so one can posit that they have already been inhabited for centuries in this quite different, counterfactual timeline. Perhaps this is a world where there have been no wars and no civilizational cataclysms, and so certain levels of development were achieved millennia earlier than in our timeline.

Neoclassical / Victorian Pedestrian Walking Arena

January 19, 2024

The interior of a large 19th-century walking arena with Corinthian columns and Neoclassical and Victorian architectural features, as envisioned via DALL-E 3. During the 19th century, the sport of pedestrianism was popular, and audiences would gather inside large indoor arenas to watch competitors walk (often speed-walk) large distances – sometimes over the course of multiple days. An arena such as this one would provide a refined setting for the competition to take place – ample space to walk in reasonably temperature-controlled conditions, surrounded by inspiring architecture. Granted, this is likely quite an upscale venue, but perhaps it will serve as inspiration for the return of this sort of setting in future years.

Luminous Skyscrapers in the Rain II

January 21, 2024

A second impressionistic painting of luminous skyscrapers in the rain, generated via DALL-E 3. A futuristic vehicle – likely with excellent and versatile all-weather tires – traverses the wet road with ease, while all around, humans (and perhaps androids) with umbrellas go about their business. The AI’s rendering of the reflection of the lights upon the road is both impressionistic and impressive.

Ornate Almost-Symmetrical Buildings I and II

January 23, 2024

 

I asked DALL-E 3 to depict an ornate, perfectly symmetrical building. These ones are indeed quite ornate, though they fall a bit short in the aspect of perfect symmetry. Still, the AI put forth a valiant effort.

Golden Neoclassical Building with Corinthian Columns

January 24, 2024

A golden Neoclassical building with Corinthian columns on a city street corner, as depicted by DALL-E 3. Having this kind of architecture at key focal points can truly beautify a cityscape!

A Landscape Without Politicians (I, II, III, and IV)

January 25, 2024

A landscape without politicians, as generated via DALL-E 3. I gave the AI the instruction to generate a landscape with absolutely no politicians in it – and it delivered on that prompt with complete accuracy. There is just a peaceful, quite mountainous, riverine landscape that extends as far as the eye can see, with extensive clouds above, illuminated by a golden sun – and not a politician in sight!

Ancient Citadel on a Nearly Barren Planet

January 3o, 2024

An ancient citadel on a nearly barren planet, generated via DALL-E 3. This citadel was inspired by the architectural style of Sir John Soane; sketches of his work often situated it amongst ancient ruins, and this citadel and its outlying buildings are also in proximity of ruins of even older structures. Still, abundant light emanates from many of the buildings, indicating that they remain very much in use. This world is not entirely devoid of habitable features, and there are two small lakes close by. In the distance, two rockets are ascending, perhaps flying toward one of the distant planets or moons that are visible in the night sky. It appears that some active efforts may be underway soon to reinvigorate this world, although it will likely take time as commerce, investment, and tourism are sought from the other planets, which appear to be much closer to this one than Earth is to Mars.

The Kitten-Emperor Meets the Duckling-Emperor

January 3o, 2024

The Kitten-Emperor meets the Duckling-Emperor in an ornate reception room to negotiate a treaty. Today’s world leaders would do well to emulate these diplomatic masterminds. Perhaps we would be better off with them in charge? (Generated via DALL-E 3.)

Skyscraper in the Style of a Tudor Manor II

February 2, 2024

This is a second result of the request to DALL-E 3 to generate a detailed representational painting of a skyscraper in the style of a Tudor manor with arches in red, yellow, and orange colors. This skyscraper is situated on a waterfront, with pleasant, tree-lined paths in the vicinity. The other skyscrapers in the background, particularly one resembling the Empire State Building, strongly suggest that the AI decided to place this quite colorful imagined structure in New York City. It would be excellent if such skyscrapers indeed began to built again – based on historical stylistic influences, but reimagined a bit, and soaring to new heights.

Victorian-Futuristic City Street Scene

February 4, 2024

A city street scene combining 19th-century Victorian-inspired American architecture and futuristic architecture. This is quite a plausible vision for a city downtown whose historic buildings continue to be renovated while new ones are built in similar or complementary styles in the vicinity. A bit farther away, the skyscrapers feature more complex geometries than the “glass box” esthetic of the mid-to-late 20th century and might, in their architectural details, also pay homage to the 19th-century styles – much like some of the earliest skyscrapers did. One can also see a futuristic remodel of an early-20th-century automobile, complete with a large bright neon blue headlight, driving down the largely empty street. Meanwhile, the sidewalks, too, are uncrowded and quite conducive to a leisurely stroll during which one could observe structures old and new.

Golden Neoclassical Villa with Corinthian Columns in a Forest

February 5, 2024

A golden Neoclassical villa with Corinthian columns in a forest, generated using the ImageFX AI. While it has a few centuries of wear on it, this building retains its well-ordered elegance and would be a sight to behold as one traversed its slightly overgrown grounds.

Space Fortress in the Renaissance Style on an Ice Planet IV

February 6, 2024

This is the ImageFX version of a detailed representational painting of a space fortress in the Renaissance architectural style with Corinthian columns on an ice planet. This particular fortress is elliptical in shape and topped by a grand dome, with two porticos on the sides. It has definitely suffered some wear from the inhospitable climate but remains structurally largely intact. It can be observed from a lookout point with a grand arch, across an icy chasm where there is only a relatively narrow walkway linking the two structures. A bearded gentleman in a top hat (a direct addition of mine) stands near the edge of the platform beneath the arch. He is focused on one of the two massive columns that support the arch, but he will also have an excellent view of the fortress if he chooses to look in its direction.

Neoclassical Painting of a Rugged Northern Nevada Landscape with a Trail

February 8, 2024

Neoclassical painting of a rugged Northern Nevada landscape with a trail, generated via DALL-E 3. This is the most plausible among the landscapes that the AI created in representing the terrain of Northern Nevada. This could be a view on the Eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, with a trail overlooking and then descending into a long but fairly narrow valley, which somewhat resembles the valleys where Carson City, Reno, and surrounding smaller towns are situated.

Desert-Glacier Transitional Landscape

February 9, 2024

A rider on horseback looks toward a peculiar transitional landscape, between a desert and… a glacier. Surprisingly, some rather large and deep-rooted trees grow in this peculiar biome, providing a bit of shade and refuge between the climate extremes. This landscape, in the style of a 19th-century painting, was generated via DALL-E 3.

Orange, Black, and White Drawing Room

February 10, 2024

Refined 18th-century drawing room with orange, black, and white ornamentation, as generated via DALL-E 3. This AI is able to envision spaces where it might be interesting to hold an Enlightenment Salon. If only the details in the paintings on the walls were a bit more representational…

Desert Intermixed with Thick Snow

February 10, 2024

Desert, intermixed with thick snow – a painting in the style of a 19th-century landscape, generated via DALL-E 3. This view reminds me of my trail-running experience today – more to come on that.

Neoclassical Colonnade with Domed Structures on a Warm Water Planet I

February 11, 2024

Detailed painting of a Neoclassical colonnade with domed structures on a warm water planet, generated via DALL-E 3. The colonnade, indeed, marks the boundary of a palatial megastructure that extends as far as the eye can see. Numerous inhabitants of this planet have gathered on the steps beneath the columns, adjacent to the water (and sometimes wandering into it), in order to observe the sunset and the sight of three futuristic airplanes of various designs performing maneuvers overhead; these aircraft were unprompted additions by the AI.

Landscape Painting of a Mountain Trail Paved with Golden Bricks

February 13, 2024

Landscape painting of a mountain trail paved with golden bricks, generated via DALL-E 3. This particular path will provide one with a smooth journey through the rugged mountainous terrain, toward a lookout point onto a long, narrow valley through which a river winds its way. After a few attempts, it seemed to me that the AI lets one follow the yellow-brick road only so far, and this was the most reasonable of the images it generated with regard to the terminus of the path.

Seaside Evening Landscape II

February 13, 2024

A second seaside evening landscape in the style of Ivan Aivazovsky with many colors in the sky, as generated by DALL-E 3. This view shows a small wave approaching the shore. One can observe three large ships on the water, which reflects the colors of the sunset sky, and some smaller boats can be seen in the distance. There are several buildings along the beachfront, including a quite conspicuously situated white tower toward the far end of the beach. Farther away, the coastline transitions to forested terrain, followed by rugged cliffs which tower above this seascape, but the clouds tower over them in turn.

Neo-Rococo Mansion on the Shore of Lake Tahoe

February 16, 2024

An ornate Neo-Rococo mansion on the shore of Lake Tahoe, as envisioned by DALL-E 3. This is not a current structure on the shore of Lake Tahoe, but it ought to be. I recently remarked in a conversation that some of the quite overpriced homes in the Lake Tahoe area are constructed in rather drab and minimalistic 1970s-era styles, and this is the antithesis of that. Of course, policies regarding construction in that hyper-restricted area (and in all areas) need to be significantly liberalized to allow these grand edifices (as well as humbler buildings inspired by them) to emerge once more.

Ornate Asteroid Base I

February 16, 2024

A space base on the surface of an asteroid with Napoleonic Era architecture, generated via DALL-E 3. While this is still quite a practical structure, hardened against the harsh conditions on the surface of the asteroid, it does permit itself a bit of stylistic refinement in the large central domed tower and the two smaller towers adjoining it. What would have been spires on historical structures with this type of design can instead be used as antennas and enhance the ability of the base to communicate with aircraft such as the small reconnaissance plane that can be seen approaching.

An Absolutely Good Landscape (I, II, III, and IV)

February 18, 2024

An Absolutely Good Landscape, as envisioned via DALL-E 3. Nothing bad about it whatsoever!

Smooth Pedestrian Road with a Colonnade and Streetlights

February 19, 2024

A smooth pedestrian road with a colonnade and streetlights, providing a way through a jagged mountain pass on a moonlit night, as generated via DALL-E 3. When the world as one encounters it does not offer a path forward, it is still possible to build such a path. Whether one takes a leisurely stroll under both lunar and manmade illumination, or just runs along this path for as far as it extends through the pass, one can enjoy the presence and protections of civilization amidst the rugged wilderness.

Swan or Dragon? (I, II, III, and IV)

February 19, 2024

I happened to watch a brief video clip of an ice sculpture being carved. At first it seemed to me that the creature being sculpted was a swan, but it turned out to be a Chinese dragon. (In all fairness, I did listen to quite a bit of Tchaikovsky during the past two days, so perhaps swans were on my mind.) I asked DALL-E 3 to envision an ice sculpture of a swan with the head of a dragon. What it produced was a sequence of four sculptures in which the swans were becoming increasingly dragon-like.

Promouseus

March 5, 2024

 

Promouseus is the mythical hero of murine longevity, bringing life extension to mice through scientific means. Having seen the statues of Prometheus and Atlas in New York, I was inspired to ask DALL-E 3 to generate an Art Deco golden statue of Promouseus. In one paw he holds an hourglass, representing the passage of time. In place of another of his paws, he has a giant DNA strand, symbolizing the ability to repair genetic damage that accumulates with age.

One of the mice in the Longevity Escape Velocity Foundation’s Robust Mouse Rejuvenation Study will be named Promouseus at my behest. Long may he live! (Granted, there may be some visual differences between this statue and the real-life Promouseus, but this is how one begins to cultivate a mythos…)

A corner of a golden Neoclassical building with Corinthian columns, generated via the ImageFX AI. The overall appearance on this structure, as seen from street-level, is grand and impressive, but the AI still has a long way to go to render the windows in a realistic and symmetrical manner. Here they received some significant manual adjustments, but one can still see where the AI imparted too much variation upon them. For now, generative AI systems still do not know what windows are, though they can produce some images that are correlated with vast numbers of previously existing images of windows. Nonetheless, this was still a valiant effort by ImageFX.

Moonlit View of a Valley in Autumn

April 18, 2024

Painting of a moonlit view of a valley in autumn, overlooking a river with a range of tall, snow-capped mountains in the distance, generated via DALL-E 3. A large wooden house is situated on the slope, and near it is an old and only partially maintained wooden fence. The vicinity of this house seems to be the only area nearby with signs of human habitation. While it is not the newest structure, and life within it would require a great deal of self-sufficiency, it is still probably one’s best refuge from the elements in this wilderness.

The Virtual Traveler After 1500 Days

April 19, 2024

After 1500 days, where shall the virtual traveler head next? Today he is in the midst of a Baroque cityscape with palatial buildings adjacent to a river. But portals have opened up to a vast variety of destinations. As long as our contemporary plague continues to afflict humanity, he will continue to explore these realms one by one, one day at a time.

(Generated via DALL-E 3.)

Blue Colony on Terraformed Mars

April 20, 2024

A colony on terraformed Mars with blue Rococo buildings, superhighways, and skyscrapers, generated via DALL-E 3. The intense blue colors of the buildings provide quite a contrast to the red planet surface and also to the green of the farmland that has been established now that an atmosphere has been introduced on Mars. This colony can produce what its inhabitants need and also enable them to dedicate some of their focus to esthetics. The network of Martian superhighways connects it to other colonies, many built in various different architectural styles.

Orange Polyhedra Floating in the Bay

April 25, 2024

One comes to the in between the vertical cliffs of the island archipelago, and observes these orange polyhedra floating in the water. Why are they here, and what do they signify? Previously, we saw much larger and more multifaceted versions of these objects making a descent onto a multitude of islands. Here they are just floating in the bay. Quite possibly, these are the habitats of an advanced civilization whose settlers decided to reside upon the water while minimizing their impact on the land.

(Generated via DALL-E 3.)

Space Base with Domed Structures on a Rocky Planet

April 28, 2024

A space base with domed structures, atop a barren, rocky planet, generated via DALL-E 3. The buildings were constructed on the most elevated rock surfaces, perhaps to take advantage of the possibility of expanding the habitable space by drilling into the rock and creating areas of shelter that are shielded from cosmic radiation despite the lack of an atmosphere on this planet. Given that the individual buildings are situated on different rocks, the most efficient ways to travel between them would be either through an underground tunnel or by means of the small aircraft shown here.