Have you heard of the AI bot Craiyon? The artificial intelligence project, hosted by the company Hugging Face, has skyrocketed in popularity over the last month, sketching more than 50,000 images per day. We joined in on the fun and asked the bot to draw seven of Raleigh’s most iconic landmarks, plus a special guest — here’s how it did, well, according to us.
Note: This application shares nine versions of each photo, so we selected our favorite and added our score for the bot’s work.
The Raleigh Skyline
Our grade: B
Not too shabby, bot. You can faintly make out Two Hanover Square + First National Bank. We subtracted points because it’s missing PNC Plaza. Check out this photo by Matt Robinson for a clearer image.
Carter-Finley Stadium
Our grade: D
At least the Wolfpack’s red and white colors are well represented. It roughly reminds us of a painterly piece that belongs in ArtSpace, and in that case, we would give this an A.
North Carolina Executive Mansion
Our grade: C
We think Craiyon was going for a whimsical take on the governor’s official residence, and it sort of worked. Take a virtual peep inside the mansion here.
NC State Farmers Market
Our grade: C+
We can recognize heirloom tomatoes anywhere, even when drawn by artificial intelligence. However, it’s not specific enough (this could be Moore Square Market or the North Hills Farmers Market). Pick up some fresh produce (we promise, they are better looking in person) from the Farmers Market from Wednesday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Our grade: B+
Though the bot may not have fit all of this T-Rex’s teeth into its interpretation, it is still terrifyingly similar to the one at the museum in downtown. We can’t wait to see more dinos come to life in 2023 when the Dueling Dinosaurs exhibit is finished.
Historic Yates Mill County Park
Our grade: A
This piece is… kind of beautiful. This view of the 200+ year old water-powered gristmill was captured like a true artist. This historical attraction also landed on our ABCs of Raleigh list.
The Raleigh Rose Garden
Our grade: C
We graded this one based on the lack of originality. Sure, the roses are beautiful, but we felt like the character of the garden wasn’t well represented. Check out this carefully manicured garden for yourself while the roses are still in bloom. We also heard that this is a great spot to plan a picnic.
Sir Walter Raleigh
Our grade: D
The AI bot tried its best, but maybe we should have stuck to looking up landmarks, not historical figures. If you want to get this image out of your head, dive into some fun Raleigh facts here.
