Cannabis superheroes: when artificial intelligence art blends with marijuana

If you haven’t been hiding in a cave for the last few months, you’ll have probably heard about artificial intelligence art and all the controversy surrounding it. By using sophisticated algorithms and deep learning techniques, this ‘AI Art’ is revolutionising the way we think about creativity and expression. With its unlimited potential, it allows us to explore new realms of visual art in ways we never thought possible before.

In a society increasingly focused on technology, where manual work is in sharp decline, creativity stands as a guarantor of the most inherent human abilities. But, as artificial intelligence continues to evolve and expand its reach, the consensus that creativity is a clearly human quality is increasingly being questioned. For instance, if AI can create works of art that rival those produced by humans, what differentiates human creativity from algorithmic works generated by artificial intelligence?

This is a question that has been on the minds of many since Watson from IBM, an AI-based system capable of answering questions using natural language, won the competition Jeopardy! in 2011, beating the two best contestants in the history of the show. Since then, the role of artificial intelligence in the creative process has become more and more prominent.

In fact, companies like Adobe already use algorithms to create charts and stock images. In some cases, these machine-generated images cannot be told apart from those created by humans. This type of work is called ‘generative art’, and is possible thanks to text-to-image platforms such as DALL E 2, Imagen, Craiyon, Midjourney, NUWA-Infinity, Stable Diffusion, etc. These programs let users load an image or text for then converting it into a different image by using an algorithm that imitates creativity.

In the last few years, this ‘artistic’ field has been gaining ground as more people are increasingly using artificial intelligence to create impressive works of art. From turning their visions into reality to transforming their thoughts into beautiful scenes, many of these pieces that use the latest generation technology have gone viral on social media.

Cannabis superheroes

A few weeks ago, the guys behind the Instagram account @herb_buddies wanted to take this trend a step further, by using AI to turn cannabis varieties into villains and superheroes. Taking iconic genetics, such as Jack Herer, White Widow, or Pineapple Express, they put them through an artificial intelligence imaging program to turn them into intergalactic warriors and mystical creatures.

The publication was an instant hit among their followers, who highly praised their creative concept. Revitalised by the impact of their first publication, @herb_buddies started to create another set of characters, this time in the form of female superheroes. The account followers were also delighted with these new creations.

As the first two superhero posts had a great impact, and even got some attention from certain cannabis influencers, they decided to capitalise on their success even further by launching a larger publication with prominent supervillains from the cannabis universe. Their followers also celebrated with gusto.

Kannabia strains represented by means of AI

The possibilities that this type of art offers creators seem to be endless. With the power of artificial intelligence, these guys from @herb_buddies have proven that you can take something as simple (or as complicated, depending on how you look at it) as cannabis strains, and turn them into powerful villains and superheroes.

Not only is this concept incredibly creative, but it also shows how AI can help us express ourselves in new and interesting ways, without having to know much about art, and in a more effective way. With this approach, human creativity isn’t eliminated, but a different means of being creative is born.

The Kannabia team has also tried out the possibilities of artificial intelligence to create artistic representations of our marijuana varieties. And we have tried it with some of the genetics from our catalogue, by introducing the text descriptions of our product info sheets into an AI art generator. And the results can be as unsettling as they are, let us say, beautiful. What do you think?