Tik-Tok’s Text-to-Image Generator is Weird! Can’t Compete with Meta

TikTok might have limited its model intentionally to prevent users from creating disturbing content

Making videos on Tik-Tok is fun in more than ways it can allow us. But for now, artificial intelligence will allow Tik-Tok users to make pictures out of random text prompts. The newest trend, also known as AI green screen is rocking Tik-Tok, with the #aigreenscreen hashtag garnering around 7 million views. AI green screen is a multimedia filter Tik Tok users make using an AI image generator. It is very much similar to its predecessors DALL-E, Imagen, or Meta's Make-A-scene, except that it is an in-app application, i.e., one can use it as a filter on the go. The trend reported by The Verge uses AI greenscreen which can be accessed through the short-form video app's camera screen. People who want to have an original background for their videos can try this out but should not be disappointed if the images do not turn out to be as realistic as DALL-E's or Meta's. TikTok's AI image generator produces abstract imagery that is very basic in composition. Besides, the suggested prompts on the app include 'snorkeling in a purple ocean', 'hidden village in the mountains', and 'erupting rainbow volcano', which precisely suggest TikTok's preference for abstract imagery.

TikTok users are playing around with different prompts which include their name and date of birth to see what it would look like in terms of aesthetics. Users pair this trend with an original sound by a user "There I Ruined It", with hilarious and witty reactions to their own creations. Any random text centered around nudity or violence too works although the output generated is nothing better than a bunch of abstract swirly elements put together. In a way it lets you dig into the creative persona as long as it complies with TikTok's content moderation policies. The Verge is of opinion that TikTok might have limited its model intentionally to prevent users from creating disturbing content which is only possible with real-looking output, plus it takes a lot of computing power to develop complex models like that of OpenAI's which TikTok currently couldn't afford to.

AI text to image generators, by far, have captivated art enthusiasts' attention generating huge debate around them pertaining to their compositional capability or the authenticity of the work generated. TikTok's image generator stands as a class apart because the seemingly intentional inclusion of abstractness would cut out all the unnecessary debate around image generators. Not all the time art has to look authentic.  Given the fact that access to other image generators is limited, AI green screen can open the flood gates for hands-on experience in experimenting with image generators. Next time while tapping on the AI green screen filter, imagine what effect a realistic Make-a-scene's image would be if it had to be used for 'Zombie outbreak in China', another popular trend that spawned TikTok.