Using Artificial Intelligence-generated Art to Illustrate Critical Zone Research

Big DataBig Data

Posted: November 19, 2024

Using Artificial Intelligence-generated Art to Illustrate Critical Zone Research

Blending data visualization and storytelling, the artificial intelligence tool midjourney provides a method to include compelling illustrations in social network and social media posts about Critical Zone research.

BIG IDEAS

Imagining concepts

These three images are previously unseen results from content generation work sessions where our team generated images to highlight research presented by Big Data Cluster members at the American Geophysical Union Annual Fall Meeting in 2022.

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Prompt:

Prompt:
The canopy structure

Prompt:

Prompt:
Major observational and modeling challenges

Prompt:

Prompt:
Complex dynamics between snow and ecohydrological processes

EYE CATCHING

Imagining work

Sometimes it can be difficult to find an interesting image to accompany a blog post, website posting, or other science communications effort. Access to midjourney offers an amazing choice of styles to draw upon when creating illustrations. AI has difficulty generating "words" so text at this point doesn't turn out readable on AI-generated images.

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Art poster style

Art poster style

Scientific poster style

Scientific poster style

Magazine cover style

Magazine cover style

EMPOWERING CREATION

Imagining science

Practice with any AI text-to-image tool takes time. At the start it may feel like there's no real correlation between prompt and generated image. But with practice, creators will know the best prompts and phrases to use with the tool to get the desired result.

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We are at the very beginning of mainstream usage of artificial intelligence tools for illustrating and even writing content. There are many AI alignment problems to overcome. It's clear, however, that these tools have great potential. And right now, when used intentionally, they can add significant value to science communications efforts.