The recent launch of Bing’s new AI image generator caused quite a stir. While the technology is impressive, concerns were raised about biased or inappropriate image generation. Fortunately, there are several alternative AI image generators that avoid these issues. This article explores the top 8 best Bing AI image generator alternatives to consider.
What is Bing AI Image Generator?
Bing AI image generator is a new feature released by Microsoft’s search engine Bing. It uses a powerful AI system called DALL-E 2 to generate unique images from text descriptions provided by the user. For example, you could type “a cute baby sloth wearing sunglasses” and get a custom fake image of just that. While it has its uses for creative purposes, Bing’s image generator faced backlash regarding harmful content in some images. This demonstrated the need for safer and more responsible AI image generators.
Top Alternatives to Bing AI Image Generator
1. Midjourney
Midjourney is currently the top alternative to the Bing AI image generator. This independent AI system creates stunning imaginary images for your text prompts. It also incorporates an effective content filtering system to prevent inappropriate content.
Some key advantages of Midjourney include:
- User-friendly Discord bot interface
- Faster image generation than competitors
- Handy upscaling features to enhance image quality
- Early pioneer in AI art since 2021
Overall, Midjourney sets the standard for ethical and responsible AI image generation. The results are diverse, creative, and awe-inspiring in equal measures.
2. Nightcafe Creator
Prefer painting-style images from your text? Then Nightcafe Creator is the best Bing alternative for you. As another early AI art platform, Nightcafe uses neural networks to emulate famous painting styles.
Simply type a text prompt and choose your desired art style, such as Van Gogh’s Starry Night or abstract art. Nightcafe will generate a unique AI “painting” for you in seconds. The quality and accuracy of the art styles are truly exceptional.
As a bonus, you can easily upscale images, purchase prints, and adjust image parameters too. Overall, Nightcafe is perfect for generating artworks rather than photorealistic fake images.
3. DALL-E 2
Owned by leading AI company OpenAI, DALL-E 2 actually powers the image generator built into Bing search. However, accessing DALL-E 2 directly via OpenAI provides far more control and capabilities than Bing offers.
With DALL-E 2, you can:
- Edit and iterate images through handy UIs
- Leverage useful text-to-image capabilities
- Enjoy detailed control of image sizes, styles, and aspects
As the industry leader in AI research, OpenAI also exerts tighter control over content filtering and data usage. So you avoid unjust harms while benefiting from a remarkably powerful text-to-image model.
4. StarryAI
For easy yet creative AI art generation on your phone, try out the StarryAI app. As with Nightcafe, StarryAI focuses more on artistic styles rather than pure image generation accuracy.
The AI will transform your text prompt into various art formats like comics, logos, graffiti, album art, and pencil sketches. Effects and styles are also customizable during and after image generation.
As StarryAI uses more filtered datasets than competitors, you’re less likely to encounter policy violations too. For artsy mobile AI generation on the go, it’s a great choice.
5. Wombo Dream
Feeling musical? Wombo Dream is an AI art platform specializing in AI-generated music videos! Give it any song lyrics and artist name you want, and Wombo Dream will create a fake music video for it after some processing.
The animated visuals are surprisingly detailed and synced well to the audio. While more limited than multifunction generators, it’s a fun creative tool for music lovers.
6. Craiyon
Formerly known as DALL-E Mini, Craiyon is a lightweight web app for simple AI image generation. As the name suggests, it’s powered by a scaled-down version of DALL-E 2 – but still produces decent results and has a friendly UI.
Key advantages include:
- Fast online access without waiting lists
- Handy meme and editing functions
- Customizable image sizes
- Clean moderation for safe content
For casual users who don’t need enterprise-grade production, Craiyon hits a nice sweet spot between power and accessibility.
7. Lexica
Offering gorgeous artwork is Lexica – a rising star among AI image generators. This text-to-image model is specifically tuned for gorgeous, high-resolution images (up to 512 MP!).
Lexica images have an almost magical quality to them. The AI compositions and color use demonstrate an innate artistry rarely matched by other platforms.
As Lexica was trained on more filtered datasets, its content policy adherence is also excellent. For inspiring and safe AI art that looks divinely beautiful, Lexica leads the way.
8. Imagine
From the Anthropic AI safety startup comes Imagine – an ethical rival to DALL-E focused on beneficial creativity. Rather than maximize capabilities alone, Imagine prioritizes model safety, oversight, and wise implementation informed by AGI risk research.
As Imagine co-founder Dario Amodei explains:
“Imagine is an attempt to responsibly introduce beneficial applications of large language models – balancing safety, ethics, usefulness, and creativity.”
For users wanting reliable and secure text-to-image generation, Imagine delivers excellent results without undermining public trust in AI. It’s slower at processing images than competitors but well worth the wait.
Key Things To Consider
When choosing an AI image generator alternative to Bing, keep the following factors in mind:
- Does it have effective content filtering and moderation? Avoid generators with patterns of policy violations.
- How is the AI model trained and improved safely? Ethical data usage and optimization matters.
- Are images customizable and iteratable? Editing options enable better creative control.
- Is there transparency about capabilities and limitations? Responsible AI providers will openly share this information.
- Does it meet my specific creative needs well? Consider artistic requirements and use cases.
Conclusion
The recent Bing AI image generator controversy highlighted important concerns about the societal impacts of large language models. But there are safer and more responsible alternatives fortunately. Generators like Midjourney, Imagine, and Nightcafe enable creativity while respecting ethical boundaries. Rather than accept harmful tradeoffs as “inevitable”, pressure should be applied for the highest standards in AI safety research and wise implementation. In time, we can develop exceptional AI technologies that empower human flourishing rather than undermine it.
FAQs
Q: Which alternative AI image generator is the easiest to use?
A: Craiyon and Nightcafe have the most user-friendly interfaces for casual users. Midjourney’s Discord bot also makes the text-to-image process smooth and intuitive.
Q: Do these alternatives completely avoid policy violations or inappropriate content?
A: No generator is perfect, but most highlighted alternatives have far stronger policies and content filtering than Bing’s offering. Risk is reduced but not eliminated entirely.
Q: Can I access high-resolution or printable images from these AI generators?
A: Yes, many alternatives enable output customization – with Lexica specializing in gorgeous HQ images up to 512 megapixels for printing. Most also allow purchasing print licenses.
Q: What generator is best for realistic fake face images?
A: DALL-E 2 still leads for precise photorealistic image generation based on textual prompts and enables consistent facial image outputs.
Q: Which alternative is the cheapest to use?
A: Craiyon is fully free to use with no subscription or costs. Midjourney and Imagine offer free trial tiers too before paid subscriptions kick in for extensive usage.
