AI-HOI AInauts,

When even former Google bosses lose the plot, you know it's getting serious ... AI is not only changing the tech world, but also how we work creatively - and what the best tools are for this.

That's what we've got for you today:

• ✌️ Ideogram 2.0 makes the best AI images with text - now also via API

• 💥 Ex-Google boss warns: "In 2 years, nothing will be the same as today!"

• 🏆 Top 100 AI apps: creative & content tools dominate the landscape

Ready? Let's rock 'n' roll!

✌️ Ideogram 2.0 makes the best AI images with text - now also via API

After the spectacular launch of the FLUX image model (we reported here, behind it are people from the former Stable Diffusion team), Ideogram is hitting back with full force.

The former Google Imagen 1 team has released Ideogram 2.0 - and it seems to be even better than Flux and Midjourney! But that's not all …

If you're thinking: "Oh, it's just another good image generator..." then we'd like to point out some special features that make it truly exceptional.

What makes Ideogram 2.0 special?

TLDR: The latest version comes with even better text display, Magic Prompt, 5 different styles (General, Realistic, Design, 3D and Anime), color palettes, a fully controllable API and an iOS app (sorry, Android users) - plus the milestone of 1 billion images created.

But there is one thing that all image generators struggle with: text on the image! Ideogram clearly shines in this area, as our direct comparison shows (here is another comparison with all the most important image models).

A photo of a man sitting in a 70s retro-stylish futuristic room with a computer and a utopian cityscape in the background. There is a neon sign in the background that says "DIE AINAUTEN ROCKEN!".

As you can see, it is possible to create everything from photorealism to anime images WITH text! The days when AI-generated text looked like it was written by a drunken calligrapher on a trampoline are over.

It can be used to generate infographics, mockups, memes, T-shirt designs, website designs or presentations, for example. And thanks to the color palette feature, you can create these in your desired (brand) colors. Pretty cool, ey ai!

The generated image is just the beginning - and the ideal opportunity to draw your attention to a few updates from other providers:

• You can then use it to generate a video with the brand new LumaLabs Dream Machine 1.5 (or use Runway or KLING).

• And then you can then add an audio track from ElevenLabs to the video - their Turbo models are now 50% cheaper!

Mega-Feature API: Automation with AI = ❤️

Ok, the API function is the big thing for us! Until two weeks ago, the API interfaces from DALL-E and Stable Diffusion were the main options available when it came to creating images. However, these were often more so-so than really wow. And most of us we are not satisfied with so-so.

The best image generator, Midjourney, has always refused to provide an API interface, so there are only handmade, unofficial solutions.

FLUX, the new top dog, can compete with the market leader Midjourney in terms of image quality - and also offers an via API (for example via Hugging Face or Fal.ai)!

But now, thanks to Ideogram, we have a second very cool API to choose from - which is even better when it comes to text creation.

This may sound a bit technical, but don't let that stop you. You can use it to support creative processes and integrate (automatic) image generation into your projects. The costs are very manageable at 5-8 US cents per generated image (OpenAI has similar prices).

This opens up so many cool possibilities! With a bit of automation via Zapier or Make, you can have content, images and more created fully automatically.

Here is an example:

A vintage comic book cover in a Marvel style featuring the AI superheroes Fabian and Reto, known as "AInauten." They are futuristic AI space explorers with a robotic sidekick, "Algo." The background contains a starry sky. The text elements on the cover say: "Jetzt mit unlimitierten Seiten!" and "Generiere deine persönliche Story."

Our take: Ideogram rocks!

In our opinion, Ideogram 2.0 is currently the best image generator in many cases - and if you treat yourself to the $8/month subscription, you can even use the search function to get inspired by the 1 billion images generated so far! So much fun.

💥 Ex-Google boss warns: "AI is unstoppable and disruptive. In two years, nothing will be the same!"

Eric Schmidt, the former Google CEO, has given insights in an intimate conversation at Stanford University that will amaze even hardened tech nerds. His warning: The next two years in the field of AI will eclipse everything we have seen so far.

Is this the reason why the original video has been removed from YouTube? Fortunately, someone quickly pulled a copy beforehand ... which we will now take a closer look at!

AI rollercoaster: when even experts get dizzy

Schmidt, who was instrumental in the acquisition of DeepMind and the development of the Transformer architecture during his time at Google, sees a fast-paced and uncertain future ahead of us.

He openly admits that he has to completely revise his opinion constantly! "Six months ago, I was convinced that the gap between top AI models and the rest was narrowing. Now I'm not so sure."

This shows how turbulent and unpredictable AI development is right now. If even top experts are poking around in the fog, what does that mean for the rest of us? Exactly, stay up to date and read the AInauten newsletter 😁!

The trifecta of progress - what comes next

Schmidt outlines a future that is hurtling towards us so fast it makes you dizzy. He talks about a revolutionary combo:

1. Huge context windows: your AI has the memory of an elephant, can keep entire libraries "in its head" and understand complex contexts.

2. Self-learning AI agents: These agents can solve tasks autonomously and learn continuously. From research to automation, they will transform entire industries.

3. Text-to-action capabilities: Natural language is no longer just translated into content, but directly into executable actions. You say "Jump!" and the AI doesn't even ask "How high?", it just does it.

This combination will not only revolutionize digital products, but also bring physical products to market in record time.

Product development cycles are shrinking from years to minutes, and the barriers to entry for tech start-ups are falling even more dramatically. Established companies must constantly reinvent themselves or go under.

Our take: man vs. machine or man + machine?

Eric Schmidt is undoubtedly a tech visionary. But sometimes you wonder whether he lives in the future or in a parallel universe. His ideas and predictions are frightening and fascinating at the same time.

We also believe see how quickly the development is progressing. AI is now really starting to create substantial economic value for companies. And the tools we have today are just a taste of what is to come tomorrow.

Knowledge is increasingly being generated by complex "black boxes". But what happens if we soon create systems that we can no longer fully understand?

AI must not only be fast and powerful, but also ethical, inclusive and sustainable. We don't need AI overlords, we need AI helpers who can make the world a better place in many areas.

🏆 Top 100 AI apps: creative & content tools dominate

Ok, now let’s talk about a very current topic: The latest ranking of the Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps shows that creative tools are still the most popular AI apps!

Over half of the top web apps revolve around content creation and editing - across all media forms such as images, video, music and voice.

Of the 12 newcomers to the list, a whopping 58% are in the creative sector.

• The top performers? Luma (#14), Viggle (#21), SeaArt (#29) and Udio (#33) are rocking the charts as newcomers. And Suno, the music generator, has made a quantum leap from #36 to #5.

• ChatGPT is still in first place, but the competition never sleeps!

• Perplexity, the AI search engine with real-time power, has worked its way up to 3rd place on the web. And watch out: Users spend even more time there than on ChatGPT.

• Claude from Anthropic is also a strong contender and has climbed from 10 to 4. With the new "Artifacts" feature, they are taking direct aim at ChatGPT's GPTs.

• TikTok's parent company Bytedance has three new additions on the list: the edtech platform Gauth (#44), the bot builder Coze (#45) and the all-round assistant Doubao (#47).

And what is the trend with mobile AI apps? Clearly content editing for images and videos - but also interaction and support from chatbots.

• Luzia, an AI assistant with a focus on Spanish-speaking users, debuted in 25th place and has an impressive 45 million users worldwide.

• The dating game is supported by LooksMax AI (#43), Umax (#44) and RIZZ (#49) - from AI-generated "glow-ups" to pick-up lines.

• Bytedance is also a big player on the go: Doubao (#26), Hypic (#19) and Cici (#34) show that the Chinese are not to be underestimated.

Our take: AI-native products are growing faster and engaging users more than ever before. Over the next few years, we are guaranteed to see a whole series of highly successful AI companies.

That's it! Thank you for joining us.

Reto & Fabian from the AInauts

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