Dream Operator

I can’t think of a bigger waste of time than to debate whether “AI diffusion” platforms like Midjourney or DALL-E-2, which generate phantasmagorias from lines of text, are merely amusing trifles or constitute a democratization of the process of artistic production. Something like a century has passed since the technical expertise of the artist was replaced by a mechanical process of headless association and combination. But Midjourney also resembles the wunderkammer, in which trophies were combined from across the bourgeoisie’s captured lands in a private, contemplative diorama. The AI image improves on this colonial fetish by extending its scope: the world is no longer sufficient. Dreams may be conquered as well.