Ai Image Generation

Stable Diffusion AI 

The creators of Stable Diffusion were Emad Mostaque, Robin Rombach, Patrick Esser, Andreas Blattmann, and Dominik Lorenz. Emad Mostaque founded Stability Ai, while the rest of the team were researchers from Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. The first version of stable diffusion released to the public in August of 2022 was Stable Diffusion 1.4. Stable Diffusion was created to solve the problem of not having an easily accessible and efficient model. Stable Diffusion also addressed the concerns of not having a high quality model for minimal gpu hardware needed. Most models before Stable Diffusion 1.4 required alot of computing power but Stable Diffusion made it easier to run on consumer grade hardware so that almost anyone with a decent computer can run it. Stable Diffusion also made it possible to be more precise on the art style and features you would like on your photos compared to other models. 

Unfortunately just with as many positives with a new technology like Stable Diffusion can bring, it can also lead to the misuse of that technology. Stable Diffusion can generate highly realistic images that can sometimes be misinterpreted as real. So there were cases were Stable Diffusion was used to create deepfakes of people and to create fraudulent photos. U.S. Representative Joe Morelle is pushing a bill to criminalize deepfake porn online. Morelle says "The images may be fake, but their impacts are very real," She also says that "Deepfakes are happening every day to women everywhere in our increasingly digital world, and it’s time to put a stop to them." 

Even though there are both negatives about this technology there are also positives so I would like to discuss the future of Stable Diffusion and where they are now after version 1.4. Stable Diffusion’s most popular debut model was their SD 1.5 model which really paved the way for Stable Diffusion ai even to this day most models use Sd 1.5 as their base model. Stable Diffusion 1.5 produces much finer images then 1.4 and has an improved image quality. Theres also SDXL 1 released in July of 2023, which generates resolutions that cant even come close to Stable Diffusion 1.5. Some SDXL models can generate realistic images that cant be told apart from real life images. There are also famous people that want to help improve Stable Diffusion to help in film making and such. Avatar director James Cameron is actually apart of the board in Stability Ai. He says in the tweak down article "I've spent my career seeking out emerging technologies that push the very boundaries of what's possible, all in the service of telling incredible stories.”

Overall, Stable Diffusion has contributed to society and changed communication for better or for worse. Stable Diffusion really helped pave the way for image generation to become more mainstream and has inspired companies like Runaway to develop and other companies like Mid Journey to constantly improve their existing projects to not get left behind.