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Show HN: A beetle generator made by machine-learning zoological illustrations

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Re: Show HN: A beetle generator made by machine-learning zoological illustrations

#2
I wonder if this could be used as an identification tool for beetles like a phantom sketch. You could move some sliders to get it closer to the bug you are thinking of or which you have in front of you.

Of course, this method would have to compete with a related model just trying to classify a photo.

Re: Show HN: A beetle generator made by machine-learning zoological illustrations

#3

I wonder if this could be used as an identification tool for beetles like a phantom sketch. You could move some sliders to get it closer to the bug you are thinking of or which you have in front of you. Of course, this method would have to compete with a related model just trying to classify a photo.

it could be used like that. Technically, the model already learned the features of the dataset. (although it was unlabelled). There are some implementations to find features in StyleGAN and enhance/modify those: StyleGan Encoder https://github.com/spiorf/stylegan-encoder

Re: Show HN: A beetle generator made by machine-learning zoological illustrations

#4

I wonder if this could be used as an identification tool for beetles like a phantom sketch. You could move some sliders to get it closer to the bug you are thinking of or which you have in front of you. Of course, this method would have to compete with a related model just trying to classify a photo.

They already have similar apps to this for a range of things. I guess the most popular ones are for plants [1]

[1] https://www.picturethisai.com/

Re: Show HN: A beetle generator made by machine-learning zoological illustrations

#6
I had the thought of how obfuscating this technology could be to hide information. Imagine this going off and publishing an unlimited number of images with generated descriptions that are indistinguishable from what a human would do. There would be no way to verify what the correct information is if you are someone just casually searching the Internet. (This could also almost apply for any type of information...)

Re: Show HN: A beetle generator made by machine-learning zoological illustrations

#8

I had the thought of how obfuscating this technology could be to hide information. Imagine this going off and publishing an unlimited number of images with generated descriptions that are indistinguishable from what a human would do. There would be no way to verify what the correct information is if you are someone just casually searching the Internet. (This could also almost apply for any type of information...)

-> https://thisrentaldoesnotexist.com

All of the dynamic content on each listing is generated via a series of different machine-learned AI models.

Re: Show HN: A beetle generator made by machine-learning zoological illustrations

#9

To the creator: since most (all?) of the beetles are symmetrical, couldn’t you generate left halves and then reflect it to create the right half? This could help you prevent asymmetric generations

Most of the images have lighting which isn’t symmetrical and I think that makes it pretty obvious when an image is made by mirroring half a beetle.

But maybe there’s some way to deal with that.

Re: Show HN: A beetle generator made by machine-learning zoological illustrations

#10
This is a beautiful write-up. And I don't wish to detract from the author's work. Nature's result side-by-side with that of the Machine. Makes one feel as though we've taken a step backwards from Alan Turing's "The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis".

Consider the "morphogenetic puzzle" of a bi-valved seashell that shuts with perfect water-tight seal. There is a constraint to this design: survival!

https://twitter.com/AlainGoriely/status/1207210428344029184

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