Keeping an Eye on Generative AI

My grandfather died when I was 2. 
Here's an image of the two of us fishing together.

Also in this issue:

• New update for Sony A1 II ebook (printed versions, too!)
• Cameracraft Update
• Safari Update
• Lecture I gave at a pioneering microcomputer workshop

More on Generative AI

Way back in 2023 I took a deep dive into the burgeoning field of generative AI for CameraCraft Magazine.  And in this blog post I summarized my findings and created a list of what developments would be necessary in order for these tools to be truly useful for real work.  

Since then I've been keeping my eye on the field's development and the amazing work some of the users are able to generate.  But I don't want to jump onto that bandwagon while the industry is still immature - I remember learning how to program analog synthesizers in the 1970's and that head start got me absolutely nowhere.

Fast forward to two weeks ago - my older brother (who looks quite a bit like me) was reading my April Fool's blog post from 2023 about my short-lived acting career, and he sarcastically responded, "Yeah and I had guitar lessons from Jimi Hendrix and Steve Howe!"  That got me thinking...

So I went to Midjourney and uploaded an image of my brother (below) and asked it to generate an image: "This person getting guitar lessons from Jimi Hendeix and Steve Howe".  I was not at all impressed by what it generated:

My older brother

The image from Midjourney didn't look like any of them.

Recently I heard about a new model from OpenAI called Sora.  It's claim to fame is "short videos from textural descriptions", but it also is reputed to handle likenesses of people well.  So I tried it again using Sora:

Wow!  Much better.

So that got me thinking about other possibilities.  For example, my cousin has always lamented that she never really got to know our common grandfather, who died in 1962:

Our grandfather.

My cousin

Same concept.  This one came out much better.

Is it perfect?  No.  Is it a thousand million times better than what AI could do just two years ago?  Absolutely.  I played around with it a little more:

Me flying a Cessna, version 1

Me flying a Cessna, version 2

Me commanding the Enterprise

I believe that, once these tools get better, there will be a market for photos you wish had been taken while growing up.  And if you peruse sites like HuggingFace.com you'll see LOTS of new Large Language Models each designed to improve some tiny area of this vast field.  New tools seem to be popping up every week.  To be sure, I'll be keeping a close eye on future developments.

Pre-Emptive Strike

Q: "Gary, can't you see that AI is going to irrecoverably ruin the photography field and put the nail in the coffin of being able to believe what you see?  How can you have such a great attitude about this atrocity which will surely destroy civilization?"

A: Hey, it's just a tool, just like Photoshop, the Scitex machine before that, and airbrushing before that (check out historical Stalin-era propaganda image manipulations done with crude tools to predictable ends.)  Like all new technologies, there's a good side and a bad side, and society will adjust just like it survived even greater disruptions, like the introduction of television and contraceptives.  Besides, I've already warned the world that the rampant irresponsible adaption of AI is ruining peoples' lives, and nobody heeded that warning.  I tried.  But it's development continues agressively and, whether we actually want these tools in our lives or not, others are embracing it to varying degrees.  May as well embrace the relatively little good it can do.  

(Meme which describes the situation quite well.)

Sony A1 II v1.1 E-book Released!

My ebook for the Sony A1 II has now been updated to version 1.1, which fixes about a thousand typos plus some sections were clarified or corrected.  Owners of the .pdf file and the printed / kindle versions (if they registered their purchase with me) have already been notified.  Let me know if you didn't get your free update.

With this release, the printed versions of the A1 II book are out as well, in both Color and B&W!  Because of the book's size (870 pages), the opus had to be split into two different volumes, so if you order a printed version make sure you order both Volumes I and II.  Links to purchase all versions can be found here.  

Cameracraft Update

For 13 years, Cameracraft Magazine has prided itself on having the most interesting articles and best print quality on the planet (better than National Geographic!).  We were one of the last holdouts for print.

Unfortunately, continuing rising postal costs (especially for countries outside the UK) have finally forced the publication to go all-digital.  If you're a subscriber you've already been notified of this and have already received the May/June 2025 .pdf issue via email. 

But this bad news has a silver lining.  If you're like me, you really prefer holding a printed version and marveling at the quality of the images.  David Kilpatrick, the magazine's editor and publisher, thinks so too, and that's why we're arranging to have issues printed on demand and shipped locally on the continent you reside upon.  Currently we have two items for sale that can be printed on demand in the US:

2024 Cameracraft annual - 288-page annual with all the issues from 2024 in a single soft cover book:  $63.00 USD

The latest issue May/June 2025: $9.00 USD 

If you reside in the UK:

2024 Cameracraft Annual 38.25 GBP

The latest issue May/June 2025: 10.00 GBP

Q: How come the USD and GBP pricing aren't comprable?

A: I can't explain the price difference.  UK pricing is cheaper than what they're offering me here in the states.

Q: Can't these local publishing houses just print and mail for US and UK subscribers?  Why do we need to purchase individual printed versions?

A: Good question.  We're working on that.

Safari Update

Last year's photo safari in Kenya generated such an enthusiastic response that we're doing it again!  Designed for the unique needs of photographers, experienced guides who understand the importance of good light and active subjects will take you to see animals in their native habitat so you can bring home photos of a lifetime.  All you have to do is get yourself to Nairobi; the staff will pick you up from the airport and take complete care of you from that point on.  The accommodations were clean, the food was delicious, the camaraderie was awesome, and the photography, well, was totally worth it!!

So we're planning a very similar trip for November 10-17, 2025, and right now it's about half filled.  You can read more about the dates and the price at www.FriedmanArchives.com/safari .  This company has been doing photo tours for the past 35 years; they know what they're doing and you'll be helping support a game reserve at the same time!  

"I just wanted to report that EVERYONE who participated in the safari was over-the-top elated with the entire experience, from the camp facilities to the employees to the greater-than-expected assortment of animals we saw every single day.  (I'm not exaggerating!)  Many participants had been on safaris before but this, they report, was the best." - Horst

So check out the improved itinerary at www.FriedmanArchives.com/safari or email me at Gary at Friedman Archives dot come with any questions, and we look forward to seeing you there!

My Talk at the Asilomar Microcomputer Workshop

Recently I had the honor of speaking at a computer conference that was founded 51 years ago by some of the pioneers of the microcomputer revolution.  Past attendees have included:

• Allan Alcorn – Designer of the first “Pong” arcade system for Atari
• Eric Allman – Author of SendMail
• Bob Frankston – Coauthor of VisiCalc and leader of the design teams for Lotus 123 and Excel
• Lee Felsenstein – Creator of the Osborne 1 and Sol20 computers, the Pennywhistle acoustic-coupled modem, and one of the members of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement of the 60’s
• David Hampton – Inventor of the “Furby”
• Brewster Kahle – Founder of the Internet Archive (Wayback Machine, etc.)
• Len Shustek and Dave Rosetti – Founder and Trustee of the Computer History Museum
• Chris Malachowsky – Cofounder of NVIDIA 
• Alvy Ray Smith – Cofounder of Pixar.

You get the idea.  It was like a TED conference for geeks AND nerds.  I was in heaven.

Me and Stanley Mazor, who worked on the
Intel 4004, 8008, 8080, and 8086 before retiring.

Me and Richard Chuang, who pioneered the tools
and creation of every CGI video you watched growing up.

Marianne Mueller, who pioneered javascript security.)

Anyway, it's their policy that every first-time attendee must give a talk about their background and interesting technology-related things they're working on.  It is also their policy to forbid the recording of any talks, but I was able to recreate my talk for posterity.  For your enjoyment, here is the talk I gave (*):

Until next time,

Yours Truly, Gary Friedman

(*)  Truth be told this was a 30-minute condensed version of the 2-hour talk I gave in Copenhagen back in 2012.