Art & Inspiration Preserving History in the AI Age

Curt Six submitted a new blog post:

Preserving History in the AI Age

Continue reading the Original Blog Post

 

Well written, Curt. It's a brave new world out there for those of us who appreciate the "real" image and history.....Don.

 

This also brings to mind images that are shared on social media platforms with filters and other effects applied. Like you mentioned, those images get saved, screen-shot, shared, etc. It becomes harder to determine which version is the real original image.

 

As mentioned, even without AI, folks have been altering images/photos even going back to film. It’s part of human nature to make things look better than they already appear in real life. Undoubtably, AI will make it almost impossible to distinguish between vintage pics and those generated using it.
That being said, is there any united effort for example to digitize all the related magazines? That certainly would be one huge step in preserving the past.

 

I had a conversation with a couple friends about this awhile back, its.... annoying.

The thing nobody has said, but I'm sure is the point of thought, is the @barriskustomcity instagram.

They have taken a bunch of period photos and butchered them using AI, then grouped them with real photos, and photos completely made with AI, and posted them to "preserve Barris legacy"

It makes me sick, because it does muddle the waters, and it discounts the thousands of well framed, clear photos that Barris took during his lifetime.

If you look at the photos they post, it is very clear purely from a clarity standpoint, the old photos are crisp and detailed, and the AI images are muddled and have things that don't line up.

I have used AI a couple times to look at a project in a different color, and while it is handy to get an 1000ft view, I find it extremely frustrating to use since it always muddies the picture and changes a dozen other things.

Don't get me started on AI car show flyers...


.F#%K AI Real Art Forever.

 

Amen.

 

We also should take into account how intelligent AI is. My brother sent me an AI colorized photo of us as little kids. The original photo was a 3x3 image. Now I can clearly see that we are wearing Mickey Mouse overalls.

 

Makes me appreciate my Andy Southard Jr. books even more...

 

Timely post. I recently wanted to look at George Kl*** ‘Remembers’ web page which contained a m***ive collection of vintage drag photos, only to find out it’s gone. I sent him a PM, as he is a member here, but he hasn’t been on here since 2024. He’s in his upper 80’s, if he is still on the top side of gr***. I could have missed a thread on this subject? If so, I certainly would appreciate a link. Bottom line, those photos are gold and I hope they become available again. Preserving original do***ents of the era should be taken seriously.

 

It's creepy.
I saw a WWII bombing mission "do***entary" about the air war in the Aleutians. There was film of a B17 going down.
It was all AI; it looks like they used a mix of stock WWII footage mixed with digital.
Come to find out; on the mission the plane was lost, it was never filmed, it was never even photographed.
That's scary.

Docudrama today.....
complete fabrications tomorrow.

 

It’s funny that this came up. Just the other night I was using AI to sharpen up an old B&W photo of Les Barath’s Freedom Fighter Simca. It looked better except that it changed his name on the door. ?? As I looked for other mistakes, I too wondered about the unintentional dilution of our photo history, mistakes and changes that will make it into our current posts and discussions as facts. I suppose it isn’t that important in the grand scheme of things but it’s something to consider.

 

This is a great follow up to your Why Print Matters post https://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=64942

It really has gotten to a point where the line of reality and unreal is not just blurry but erratically weaves back and forth. I'm afraid it will only get worse as "the internet" as a medium for transmitting ideas is ripe with the ability to change and erase as quickly as it can put them out in the first place.

Buy pre-AI books and keep those old magazines. It's only way to be sure of what was "real"

I understand this completely Joe. I usually boycott shows that do this. Of course (as you know) I do make an exception or 2.

 

Makes me think of the last two lines from “Late Lament”.

 

"and like it or not (I don’t) we have to learn to navigate an AI world."

No. We don't. The only people telling you that are the ones trying to sell you it.

 

Best thing we can do now is cherish what’s real.

 

Don't care for AI. HRP

 

Ok, not to pick a scab, but this whole vibe is another reason why TRJ is valuable and worth the wait. There's so much real "gold" over the years on this very topic. It's become an historical reference for anyone with even a p***ing interest. I'm done, cya...

 

Just another updated form of photoshop, that is relied on here. I know that it is overrunning parts of the world already. but, for me AI = all idiots

 

I'll send pics of my cars at shows or just on the road or even in my driveway to car-type friends and family just to show them what I'm up to....inevitably someone will send me some AI phony-*** doctored version of the pic back to me expecting me to think it's awesome....No, I don't want to see my car looking like a cartoon or comic book, or it with some yellow/orange/purple/pink/green sky and trees and houses on fire in the background.

 

Aww, yer no fun...

 

This image was found and has been shared by others on the infamous "social media". I shared it on a thread over in the Off-Topic section, but I think it fits here better. I also took the liberty of adding the disclaimer/watermark to this copy to hopefully keep it from gaining any more traction.
IMHO, this is what's wrong with AI images: they're being generated and used by people who have little to no knowledge of the subject they're attempting to portray.
Talk about re-writing history....

 

AI in the car world is just going to make your actual shop manuals, books and magazines a better resource for now and into the future. Hopefully those in the medical, engineering, and legal world won't throw out those shelves filled with reference texts and computer programs just yet.

 

I manage a team of designers in the mechanical engineering (for architecture) industry. We are part of a large corporation and we not using AI for any part of our design process.

 

Never I repeat never trust A.I.!

Typed D.I.R.T modified in Google not so long ago, the answer Google A.I. came up with (regular Google came up with the real answer) talked about a D.I.R.T modified but showed a photo of Tommy Ivo’s flopper bodied funny car!

I also once asked “What year did Neil Bonnett win the Southern 500?” He was driving for the Wood Bros.

A.I.’s answer Woody Bonnett won the Southern 500 in….

 

This whole AI thing gives me a headache. Now every time I see a picture or a video the first thing I have to determine is if it's real or fake. It sort of reminds of a do***entary I watched many years ago about Bigfoot. There is the famous footage shot by Bob Gimlin and Roger Paterson in 1967 of an alleged bigfoot. Many people said they wished this footage didn't exist because they claim that too many people are more interested in if the film was fake than if what was was on it was real.

 

We are in the dawn of a new age
and for a group of like minded individuals on the HAMB
It could be good or more likely very bad
It’s tough enough trying to preserve the precious history we so love
now we must sort through a barrage of ai generated garbage
*** Intelligence

 

Hello,

We all have been in the “A.I.” stage since digital watches and early games were on odd looking keyboards and screens. It provides us with stuff we can’t do our selves, like create a game we all like to play. At the time of the development, we all enjoyed the simplicity of a screen, a game and ways to type in directions or use the keyboard for action.

Who was allowing us to do all of those moves? Yes, some college age kid was in a development room making the latest game for all of our intense moments. Computers were for business and they slowly crept into the scene across the country. So, we cannot bad mouth A.I. as it was back then, artificial ways to think and play simple games to destroy our universe from dropping bombs on our characters. Ha!

But, most want to get on the bandwagon and say how bad A.I. is or will be. If one thinks about it, it has started way back when most folks here on the HAMB were little guys riding bicycles on the school playgrounds and not cruising in cars.

Jnaki

Taking into account the amount of development in the artificial computer industry from way back, we all have liked creativity. As bad as most think, if the machine can develop a good sense of what we see, then it will all fall eventually in line with what we think is a hot rod or custom car. Whoever programs the A.I. in those dark rooms, needs to have his act together, but we are talking about almost infinity amount of information to feed the machines to come up with a fast answer or display what is the answer.

Some folks like programming in the industry. When it all started, it was not for everyone to sit at a simple screen and keyboard typing in “go to line b, 4 spaces over, down one line and move the description…”yadda, yadda, yadda. For others, they like the advantage it gave in what they were doing directly with the program.

Then it develops at a speed that kept up with today’s situations in most industries. Sometimes it is awful as it was in the first stages of programming. Others took to it like flies on sugar. So, like your phone or laptop or even your large screen TV? What about your map program to get from one place to another? All a part of the industry and programming to make things easier and enjoyable.

To each his own and work with what you have. Keep the criticism down as it is all a part of everyone’s life, today. If it is not for your tastes, then go do something else. Computers are artificial, the brain is not… don’t lower oneself by using the brain the wrong way…YRMV

Note:

Do your own search or research to keep the files in line with the history that has presented itself over our timelines since the early 40s to today. if one remembers how it was done, nothing in the present will change our minds if it is wrong. Keep your history correct and use it to refer to how it was in the overall timeline.

 

This is how my car sits right now.
The images below are created using AI.
I have used AI to help as a visual aid.
I am only using it to see different wheel and color combinations. I used to do it with colored pencils and markers. Same effect, different tool.

I only hope it looks half as good as the AI images.
I still have and use plenty of printed material for reference. I just look at AI as another tool.

 

I saw an editorial in a NZ car mag. A photo was submitted to AI for enhancement and came back with a Hot Rod Jail Bar truck totally restored and four or five cars added to the scene and some other cars also altered. This is just the tip of the ice burg of where this is going.... i may as well use AI to put my Belly Tank on the start line at Speed Week.... nah that's not going to happen!! JW

 

Every time Im at a used book store or antique shop I'm on the hunt for old shop manuals. People think I'm weird when "you can just Google it" but I prefer to have the physical copy. Harder for someone to post the wrong info and then the internet deems it factual....

Ive been guilty of that as well, however Ive also noticed that ai likes to take liberties. I asked to see how my car would look painted and with a light chop. This abomination is what came back to me: