Credits

Initially, we were inspired to include archival images that depict technology throughout history. In the spirit of the project, we decided to combine archival content with AI-generated images that we made with DALL-E, Midjourney, and Adobe Firefly, among other tools.

We searched for paintings, prints, and illustrations in the public domain. We hoped to include images of all different kinds of people using technologies across time. We were struck by the difficulty of this task. Images of minorities were nearly impossible to find, and when we did come across them, they were often caricatures. 

It was a painful reminder that this is the very same data that is used to train our AI systems, which will import these biases and thus not reflect the diversity of our world. This is a massive limitation. We hope to spark conversation about these disparities and the other challenges of representation within training datasets. For AIPP, we have curated and created images that are in line with our values while acknowledging the limits of the historical collections we explored.

Archival images on this website are from the New York Public Library Digital Collections, the Harvard Art Museums, the Library of Congress, and various other sources. AI-generated images have also been created by our team using popular text-to-image models. Please find individual citations and prompts below.

Home 

AI Starter: “L’avenue de l’Opéra” (“Avenue of the Opera”), En l’an 2000 (In the Year 2000), Jean-Marc Côté, 1910. Bibliothèque nationale de France, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b525123315?rk=21459;2.

LLM Tutorial: “Les mystères de l’infini” (“The Mysteries of Infinity”), Un autre monde: transformations, visions, incarnations…et autres choses (Another World: Transformations, Visions, Incarnations…and Other Things), J. J. Grandville, 1844. Boston Public Library, https://archive.org/details/unautremondetran00gran/page/n9/mode/2up.

Resources: The Circulating Library, George Spratt, c. 1830. WikiGallery, http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_158169/G.-Spratt/The-Circulating-Library%2C-1830.

AI Guide

George Arents Collection, The New York Public Library. “Teaching a machine to think.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1850-1959. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-9279-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.

—. “Organization and disorganization of matter.” https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-93cf-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.

—. “Making the finished print.” https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-92c1-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.

About

George Arents Collection, The New York Public Library. “Battley’s special glass.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1850-1959. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-9327-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.

—. “How the planetarium is housed.” https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-92a3-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.

—. “Captain Eyston’s car ‘Thunderbolt’.” https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-9231-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.

—. “Wilbur Wright – first to fly.” https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-9373-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.

—. “The job for the lathe.” https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-9393-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.

—. “The spectrum.” https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-9387-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.

Assignments

Many Sides of Many Coins: Vielecke und Vielflache: Theorie und Geschichte (Polygons and Polyhedra: Theory and History), Max Brückner, 1900. Gerstein- University of Toronto, https://archive.org/details/vieleckeundvielf00bruoft.
Note: The right half of this image was created using Generative Fill in Adobe Photoshop.

AI Validation: Paper doll fashions issued by the Sunday Times-Herald Chicago, Shober & Carqueville, 1895. The Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/resource/pga.08313/.

Rehearsal to a Real Life Interview: [Aerialist wearing wings strapped to his shoulders and feet while suspended from a balloon], Anonymous, c. 1870. The Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/resource/ppmsca.02493/.
Note: The left 3/4 of this image was created using Generative Fill in Adobe Photoshop.

Investigating Misleading AI Generated Images: Almond blossom, Vincent van Gogh, 1890. Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vincent_van_Gogh_-_Almond_blossom_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg.
Note: The cat in this image was created using Generative Fill in Adobe Photoshop with the prompt “orange cat sleeping in tree in the style of van gogh almond blossoms.”

Analyzing AI “Literature”: Generated by Maria Dikcis using Midjourney with the prompt “a vintage painting of an industrial factory.”
Note: The left and right sides of this image were created using Generative Fill in Adobe Photoshop.

AI as a Mirror: A Glimpse of the loved one, Anonymous, c. 1750. San Diego Museum of Art, https://collection.sdmart.org/objects-1/info/5763.

AI Sandwich: Generated by Austin Ledzian using Stable Diffusion with the prompt “stack of letters and papers in the shape of a sandwich”; negative prompt “not a literal sandwich not lettuce not tomato not meat not bread” (style: artstyle-watercolor).
Note: The left and right sides of this image were created using Generative Fill in Adobe Photoshop.

Correct a Bad Essay: Generated by Austin Ledzian using Stable Diffusion with the prompt “writer sitting at a desk in front of a typewriter with their back to the viewer in front of an open window with light streaming in and a view of a lake with beautiful trees” (style: artstyle-pointilism).

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Code!: Generated by Maria Dikcis using Adobe Firefly with the prompt “bird’s eye view of a rock, crumpled ball of paper, and scissors in a row (minimalism, stamp, antique photo, faded image, paper mache, pastel color).”

Exquisite AI Corpse: “Les métamorphoses du sommeil” (“The Metamorphoses of Sleep”), Un autre monde: transformations, visions, incarnations…et autres choses (Another World: Transformations, Visions, Incarnations…and Other Things), J. J. Grandville, 1844. Boston Public Library, https://archive.org/details/unautremondetran00gran/page/n9/mode/2up.

Critical Analysis Across AI Tools & Stereotypes: Le Sortie de l’opéra en l’an 2000 (Leaving the Opera in the Year 2000), Albert Robida, c. 1902. Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007676247/.

Close Reading the TOS: Generated by Maria Dikcis using Adobe Firefly with the prompt “romantic painting of a poet writing in the moonlight (art, cartoon, warm tone, low lighting, wide angle).”
Note: The left and right sides of this image were created using Generative Fill in Adobe Photoshop.

Arresting Metaphors: La Clairvoyance, René Magritte, 1936. https://www.renemagritte.org/la-clairvoyance.jsp#prettyPhoto.
Note: The left and right sides of this image were created using Generative Fill in Adobe Photoshop.

Illustrate a Hoax: Pastime for little fingers. The girls’ play-ground, Pastime Publishing Co., c. 1881. The Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/resource/pga.11855/.
Note: The left and right sides of this image were created using Generative Fill in Adobe Photoshop.

A Tale of Two Critiques: The Garden of Earthly Delights, Hieronymus Bosch, c. 1500. Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights.

AI Misinformation Campaign: Generated by Maria Dikcis using Midjourney with the prompt “whimsical art piece, vintage, two animals, a penguin, dressed in suits sitting across from each other at a desk, 1940s style, muted dull colors, minimal, postcard feel.”

Debating the Ethics of Generative AI: Generated by Mohsin Yousufi using Adobe Firefly with the prompt “two ai machines debating each other about humans (art deco, nostalgic, layered paper).”

AI Image Remixing: Generated by Mohsin Yousufi using Adobe Firefly with the prompt “a collage of a figure of a woman emerging from a background – torn paper (vibrant colors, nostalgic, art deco).”

AI in Teachers’ Hands: “A l’école (At School),” En l’an 2000 (In the Year 2000), Jean-Marc Côté, 1910. Bibliothèque nationale de France, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b525123315?rk=21459;2.

The Medium is (a big part of) the Message: Generated by Maria Dikcis using Midjourney with the prompt “a series of objects in a row (a television, a light bulb, a phone, a wheel), flowers growing out of them, vintage postage feel, 1960s meets speculative futurism, muted playful colors.”

Heritage Speakers and Translingualism: Generated by Maria Dikcis using Midjourney with the prompt “two people sitting across from one another engaged in deep conversation, evoking a translingual dialogue, words flowing in swirls of flowers out of their mouths, connected vines in the background, dreams, watercolor, soft rainbow palette colors, beautiful lighting.”

Exploring Neural Networks with Quick, Draw!: Drawing Made Easy, E.G. Lutz, 1921. Boston Public Library, https://archive.org/details/drawingmadeeasyh00lutz/mode/2up.

Demystifying AI Hype: “Electrical building—World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Illinois,” Charles S. Graham, Winters Art Lithographing Company, 1892. Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/pga.03063/.

Playtesting Your ChatGPT Prompt: “Views of the Tessaract,”The Fourth Dimension, Charles Howard Hinton, 1904. PIMS-University of Toronto, https://archive.org/details/fourthdimensio00hint/page/n7/mode/2up.

A Truth, a Lie, and a Blurry Line: “Portrait of Pablo Picasso,” Juan Gris, 1912. Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Juan_Gris_-_Portrait_of_Pablo_Picasso_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg.

How to Train Your AI Dragon: Clavis Artis, Manuscript Ms-2-27, Biblioteca civica Attilio Hortis, Trieste, Italy. Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Clavis_Artis#.

DuPont Analysis of Coca-Cola: Generated by Maria Dikcis using Midjourney with the prompt “vintage poster of soda bottles in a row, soft neon colors.”

Simulated Telephone Triage Calls: Generated by Khalil Ismail using DALL-E 3 with the prompt “Generate an image for a banner that will be used for an educational AI assignment. The assignment is about simulated triage phone calls for nurses to simulate real situations with patients. In terms of style, create something akin to an old grain photograph.”

What’s Your P(doom)?: Generated by Khalil Ismail using DALL-E 3 with the prompt “Generate an image for a banner that will be used for an educational AI assignment. The assignment is about the probability of doom or fortune that AI will bring to the world. In terms of style, create something akin to an old grain photograph.”

Generative AI and Stasis Theory: Generated by Maria Dikcis using Microsoft Designer with the prompt “Ancient Greek statues on pedestals in a row facing forward wearing classical dress in elegant poses, a combination of men and women, all with sunglasses on, painting, fresco, pastel neon colors.”

Immersive History: Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I and Coronation of the Empress Josephine in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris on 2 December 1804, Jacques-Louis David, 1807. Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jacques-Louis_David_-_The_Coronation_of_Napoleon_(1805-1807).jpg.

Science Fiction Worldbuilding: Generated by Khalil Ismail using DALL-E 3 with the prompt “Generate a landscape image for a banner. The image is about science fiction world-building for exoplanets. In terms of style, create something retro and slightly grainy, but not too monochrome. Focus on exoplanets as the visual theme.”

AI, the Future, and You: Generated by Maria Dikcis using Microsoft Copilot with the prompt “A community garden in the heart of a bustling city, people of all ages sharing resources, planting, and harvesting, urban oasis, vibrant colors, sense of unity and collaboration.”

Interview a Fictional Character: “Correspondance cinéma-phono-télégraphique” (“Cinema-Phono-Telegraphic Correspondence”), En l’an 2000 (In the Year 2000), Jean-Marc Côté, 1910. Bibliothèque nationale de France, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b525123315?rk=21459;2.

Questioning the Bot: Socratic Chats with AI: Aspasia Conversing with Socrates and Alcibiades, Nicolas-André Monsiau, 1801. Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Debate_Of_Socrates_And_Aspasia_%282%29.jpg. 

Values Bridge: Connecting Values to Ethical Perspectives: Yahagi Bridge at Okazaki on the Tōkaidō (Tōkaidō Okazaki Yahagi no hashi), from the series Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces (Shokoku meikyō kiran), Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1834. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/53700.

Making AI Pressures Visible: La Psyché (The Psyche Mirror), Berthe Morisot, 1876. Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, https://www.museothyssen.org/en/collection/artists/morisot-berthe/psyche-mirror. 

Align on the Line: Making Ethical Lines Visible: Composition, László Moholy-Nagy, 1927. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/2982.

Map a Moment: Reflecting on AI Experiences: De astronoom (The Astronomer), Johannes Vermeer, c. 1668. Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johannes_Vermeer_-_The_Astronomer_-_1668.jpg.