Craig Baird’s phone hasn’t rung in the past few weeks. Twitter alerts and interview requests are on the rise, especially since he posted a series of portraits of Canadian prime ministers dressed and styled like the rock singers of the 1980s (New Window).
I said to myself: Artificial intelligence can be a good method for teaching history, explains the former journalist and host of the podcast Canadian History Ehx. Most people probably can’t name more than 5 or 10 prime ministers.
The images are generated using the Midjourney platform, which can create illustrations from simple text queries.
I create these unique storylines that didn’t exist, but that get people interested and laughing, sharing and seeing that Canadian history can be interesting.
Before showing them as leaders of rock bands, he had created images of prime ministers in Hockey Players of the 1970s (New Window).
Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau as ice hockey players 1970s.
Photo: Midjourney/Twitter/Craig Baird
He adds that several people have contacted him to say that these posts have inspired them to learn more about some of the historical figures he features.
“Several teachers told me that they would show these photos to their students to get them interested in the story. That was actually the goal. »
— A quote from Craig Baird, historian and broadcaster
rake wide
Craig Baird is now working full time on his podcast. It has more than 500 episodes on topics as diverse as the deportation of the Acadians and the transaction that sent Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings.
An image of Louis Riel on a motorcycle created by Craig Baird.
Photo: Midjourney/Twitter/Craig Baird
This versatility is also reflected in his anachronistic digital creations. For example, he created a portrait of Louis Riel on a motorcycle and another of the writer Lucy Maud Montgomery, creator of Anne… la maison aux gables vert.
Arouse curiosity, but not confusion
Craig Baird is aware of the possible excesses of artificial intelligence. With KI, the line is very thin, as we saw in the photo of the Pope in the white coat, he says. When I saw it, I thought it was real before realizing that it was created using artificial intelligence.
Craig Baird believes it’s important not to create images that could contribute to misinformation.
Photo: Radio Canada / Francois Joly
Craig Baird says he always makes sure to design visibly fake images to avoid creating confusion online. For example, we saw the fake pictures of Donald Trump fleeing the police. People thought it really happened.
However, he believes AI can be used to bring events to life that date back to before photography was invented. You can use it to add color or make things more alive than just words or books, he concludes.