ARTIFICIAL intelligence continues to grow in the public consciousness, with a new technological leap forward seeming to appear every week.
Microsoft Bing's image creator is the latest development in user-friendly artificial intelligence, and can visualise custom prompts.
To test the capabilities of this AI image generator we asked it to create seven images of Carlisle based on seven different scenarios.
Should professional animators be worried? That depends... the images are strange, more like impressions than anything resembling our actual city. The people it draws are particularly iffy, with disembodied heads, grotesquely extended arms and six-fingered hands abounding.
But an AI can produce them instantly. If nothing else, these pictures provide a snapshot of where we are with this technology in 2024, as it continues its meteoric rise...
What if Carlisle had a tram network?
In this image, the tram systems carve through the city centre and provide another option for those looking to travel around Carlisle. Where in the city is this exactly? It's not clear... but it captures the hills on the horizon quite nicely.
What if Carlisle was the capital of the country?
However, instead of upscaling into a London-style metropolis, Carlisle retains its rural charm, with the Cathedral at the centre. Despite being the capital however, looks like we can't attract the funding to complete the nearest bridge on the river, which starts on the left bank but never reaches the other side.
What would the celebrations look like in Carlisle if Carlisle United won the Premier League?
After the arrival of the Florida-based Piatak Family, anything does feel possible for Paul Simpson's Blues, however, the immediate priority is securing League One survival.
In this visualisation we asked the AI to imagine the celebrations that would break out in the city if Carlisle were to reach the summit of English football. From the looks of things, a great many people's faces would slide off.
What would Botchergate look like if England won Euro 2024?
Botchergate was the home of celebrations when England reached their first major final since 1966 in 2021 and perhaps it could look similar in the near future and judging by the pile of bottles in the middle, not many will remember the revels.
What if Carlisle had no traffic or no roads?
Arguably the first questionable visualisation from the AI. We asked it what Carlisle would look like if it had no roads or traffic.
However, according to the mind within the Microsoft Bing image creator, Carlisle 'without traffic or roads' becomes a place with snaking and slaloming roads that dive over a central river. Traffic can clearly be seen on the roads. 1/10.
What if Carlisle was transported 1,000 years into the future?
If you are wondering what this image is, this is what Carlisle, according to the AI image generator, could look like in 1,000 years.
Futuristic skyscrapers and space travelers feature in this view up Botchergate. Steam or smoke billows inexplicably from the skyscrapers, while confusingly-marked roads carry vehicles which have advanced surprisingly little technologically in 1,000 years.
What if Carlisle was transported 1,000 years into the past?
On the other end of the time travelling spectrum, this is what bustling Carlisle looked like in 1024, according to AI.
The city's cathedral, which hadn't been built at the time, is surrounded by a middle-age settlement 44 years before the arrival of William the Conqueror on the southern coast of England.
READ NEXT: We asked an AI to write a poem about Carlisle - this is what it came up with...
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