An elephant riding a unicycle while juggling chainsaws...

…and other impossibly fantastic visuals brought to you by generative AI 😉

My son is 10 years old and he is no stranger to artificial intelligence. He may not be completely obsessed with the technology like his dear old dad, but he knows how to use a few AI-powered tools for work and for play.

Before bed the other night, we decided to have some fun with image generation. I started with this prompt:

“An elephant riding a unicycle juggling chainsaws”

Photo of an elephant with a light grey complexion balancing on a red and silver unicycle in the center of a circus ring. The elephant is skillfully juggling three orange chainsaws that are turned off, creating an arc above its head. The background features a lively circus atmosphere with colorful tents and a crowd of various people in the distance, under a clear blue sky.

To which my son replied:
“A chimpanzee writing a dinosaur while throwing rocks and stones at another dinosaur”

Photo of a chimpanzee with a dark brown coat riding atop a green triceratops. The chimp, displaying a focused expression, is hurling a collection of smooth grey rocks and jagged brown stones at a brown tyrannosaurus rex, which is standing some distance away, looking surprised. The setting is a lush prehistoric jungle with towering ferns and ancient trees under a warm, golden afternoon sun.

Illustration of a chimpanzee with a light brown fur color mounted on a vibrant blue velociraptor. The chimpanzee is animatedly tossing an assortment of multicolored rocks and stones at an orange allosaurus that is trying to dodge them. The scene takes place in a vivid and stylized prehistoric landscape filled with oversized colorful plants and a dramatic purple and pink sunset sky in the background.

We both got a kick out of the way the rocks appeared to be hovering in mid air. Never one to back down from a challenge, I rebutted with:
“A bunch of anthropomorphized farm animals attending a formal wedding”

This ignited a short conversation about what the heck “anthropomorphized” means. I explained to my son that this typically refers to a person with the head of an animal. But can refer to anything looking or acting like a human.

Photo of various anthropomorphized farm animals in formal wedding attire inside a rustic barn transformed into an elegant wedding venue. A cow wearing a black tuxedo and a pig in a flowing white wedding dress stand together at the altar, exchanging vows. Surrounding them, a group of chickens in suits and ducks in cocktail dresses witness the ceremony, amidst hay bales adorned with white satin and twinkling fairy lights.

Undaunted, my son fired back with this prompt.
“A massive eyeball spider chasing a dinosaur, carrying a suitcase”

It should be noted that my son simply hit the “voice to text” button and speak his prompt into chatgpt’s dall-e 3 using my iphone. This means that even a 3 or 4 year old can play this image generation game!

Illustration of a giant spider with a body made of enormous, glistening eyeballs in pursuit of a small, orange T-Rex dragging a vintage suitcase. The scene unfolds in a surreal, desolate landscape that resembles a barren desert with a few scattered, twisted trees under a stormy sky, giving the artwork a tense and dramatic feel.

At this point, we were both laughing out loud! We loved the silliness of the dinosaur holding a suitcase in his toes. And the giant eyeball spider is just sooo coool!! ?

The 10 year old was definitely winning our little competition. So I came back with: “A huge banquet table of Stone Golem‘s feasting on food made out of hot coals and fire”

Illustration of a medieval feast scene with Stone Golems, having the appearance of weathered limestone, gathered around a massive wooden table. The table is adorned with a feast composed entirely of fire and ember-based dishes; from coal-encrusted roasts to bowls of blue and red flames. The setting is a torch-lit underground chamber with a vaulted ceiling, giving the scene a majestic and otherworldly ambiance.

While we appreciated the image, it didn’t really do much for us, as we were both expecting the stone golems to be actively crunching and munching on hot coals. Swing and a miss!

So the kid then replies with:
“A cluster of eyeball dinosaur pig monsters robbing a bank”

I was half expecting the ai to decline to generate an image since it depicts a crime being committed, but it did not disappoint…

Photo of an unusual scene inside a bank where a group of monstrous creatures with dinosaur bodies, pig snouts, and clusters of eyeballs in place of their heads are in the midst of a heist. They are carrying sacks with dollar signs and are surrounded by scattered money, while the bank employees and customers watch in shock. The creatures have a mix of scaly and bristly textures, adding to their bizarre appearance.

Once gain, we were both laughing out loud at this one! The pig eyeball monsters are just so bizarre, haha.

Knowing I was getting my butt kicked, I tried to ramp it up with a more descriptive prompt: “A giant, gorilla with a cathod ray tube television for ahead and metallic jet pack. Wings with huge drills for hands and rockets, shooting out of his knees.”

Illustration of a massive gorilla in a dynamic pose soaring above a futuristic city. The gorilla's head is replaced by an old-school cathode ray tube television, which flickers with a ghostly glow. It sports a shiny, silver jet pack with blue flames shooting out. The gorilla's wings are large, reminiscent of airplane wings, and its hands are massive drills mid-rotation. Bright red and yellow rockets flare from the knees, propelling it with immense speed.

Photo of a gargantuan gorilla standing amidst a cityscape. The gorilla has a vintage cathode ray tube television for a head, displaying static on the screen. On its back, a metallic jet pack with fiery thrusters is strapped, ready for takeoff. The gorilla's wings are outstretched, composed of sleek metal with intricate mechanics, and its hands are replaced with enormous, spinning drills. From its knees, streams of fire and smoke are blasting out, suggesting rockets propelling it upward.

Finally, it appeared that I had scored a point. Not only a point in our game, but also a parenting point, because this prompted the question: “What the heck is a cathode ray tube!?”

My reference to antiquated television technology had inspired the boy, and he entered the final prompt of the evening: “A war of a giant grill with a catheode ray tube television for head and metallic jet pack wings with huge drills for hands and rockets, shooting out of his knees battling a dinosaur, carrying a suitcase while riding a blue whale”

Illustration of a fantastical warfare moment where a behemoth grill, equipped with a cathode ray tube TV head, metallic wings, drill hands, and knee rockets, clashes against a suitcase-toting dinosaur astride a majestic blue whale. The whale is leaping from the swirling, tumultuous sea as the grill unleashes a barrage of fiery rockets. The sky is a whirl of colors, indicating the chaos of the battle, as the two titans face off.

Photo of an epic battle scene where a giant grill with a cathode ray tube television for a head, metallic jet pack wings, drill hands, and knee rockets, is engaged in combat with a dinosaur that is holding a suitcase. The dinosaur is mounted on a colossal blue whale that is breaching out of an ocean during a stormy night. The grill is shooting flames towards the dinosaur, while lightning illuminates the dramatic scene.

My son had definitely won the game of “who can generate the most interesting image using AI” – but for me it was a parenting victory!

An elephant riding a unicycle while juggling chainsaws…