Artificial intelligence is everywhere, but what do most people really know about the emerging technology?
Anyone can find out more by playing around with different AI platforms at the Groundworks AI Playground in Herrick District Library’s downtown location.
“The whole idea is to give patrons an opportunity to have a risk-free trial and just play around with these four different platforms,” Groundworks Coordinator Daniel Zuberbier said. “They can test drive them without needing to create their own accounts.”
Groundworks
Groundworks is the library’s community space that provides the tools and technology needed to create new things, advance personal and professional projects and meet, share and collaborate with others. HDL patrons can try new technologies such as 3D printers, a sound booth, graphic design software, a sublimation printer, virtual reality headsets and digital conversion equipment.
Groundworks is open noon-8 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesdays, and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursdays Fridays and every other Saturday.
Patrons can address their questions and fears about AI without risk, Zuberbier said. Some of the questions asked of the text-based AI platforms include “What’s a good Renaissance faire costume?,” “Is time travel possible?” and “How do you code Java?” People have also asked the AI to write an acceptance speech and create a home pizzeria startup guide.
The playground now includes full versions of ChatGPT as well as three image-based platforms Stable Diffusion, Midjourney and DALL-E 3 and one video platform Luma Dream Machine.
The playground will be available through mid-September. Patrons are able to type in any idea they can think of — from a cat wearing a space suit to Iron Man riding a unicorn — and instantly generate that image or video.
“We are just here to educate the public on what these platforms can do and what they can’t do,” Zuberbier said. “There are questions about the ethics used in gathering and training these models.”
AI imagery is used in more places than people realize, he said, including advertising, corporate stock art and even “deep fake” videos.
“Deep fakes are a thing that’s happening more and more. People need to know what they are and how to identify them,” Groundworks Assistant Faith Barnett said.
The library is planning future programs that will focus on identifying deep fakes.
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