AI Has Created An Internet Demon Named ‘Loab’ Who Keeps Haunting Images
Image by Supercomposite and featured with permission
Years back, there was a creepy internet legend describing a man whose face had supposedly shown up in everyone’s dreams. The figure, colloquially known as ‘This Man’, has been dismissed as a hoax.
Now, there’s another such face who’s been paying unwanted visits to imagery, but this time, she’s just as real as the disconcerting phenomenon of AI art generation. Don’t stare too close, or ‘Loab’ might haunt your dreams too.
Loab was first discovered—or, rather, unintentionally summoned—by Swedish musician Supercomposite, who had been experimenting with “negatively-weighted” input on an unknown text-to-image generator at the time. For the uninitiated, negatively-weighted prompts are prompts that tell artificial intelligence to do the complete opposite of the description it is being fed.
Supercomposite got the AI to create something out of the keyword, “Brando::-1,” with the actor Marlon Brando in mind. The unspecified tool was meant to churn out something as different as Marlon Brando as possible, and it generated a black skyline logo with the text “DIGITA PNTICS.”
The artist wondered if the opposite of the same logo was Marlon Brando, so the AI was asked to flip its results. Instead, it invoked Loab.
🧵: I discovered this woman, who I call Loab, in April. The AI reproduced her more easily than most celebrities. Her presence is persistent, and she haunts every image she touches. CW: Take a seat. This is a true horror story, and veers sharply macabre. pic.twitter.com/gmUlf6mZtk
— Supercomposite (@supercomposite) September 6, 2022
Images by Supercomposite and featured with permission
As if you weren’t threatened by AI art generators enough…
“To clarify for the press (many are asking for an explanation without jargon): I have brought a real IRL demon to life,” describes Supercomposite. “Research has found that demons are real and live inside of computers. Computers are like little houses for demons and church is like a big house for angels.”
The name ‘Loab’ was chosen by the “demon” herself, who spelled the word “LOAB” on an image. She often turns up as an older woman with menacing eyes and red cheeks.
My friend made this image of a "[...] hyper compressed glass tunnel surrounded by angels [...] in the style of Wes Anderson". I innocently combined this image with the original image of Loab in an image prompt, without text. For reasons we can't fully explain, nightmares ensued. pic.twitter.com/08n6GOw3wG
— Supercomposite (@supercomposite) September 6, 2022
Images by Supercomposite and featured with permission
Loab consistently shows up in spite of the prompt or genre, including in macabre settings where blood is involved. “The AI reproduced her more easily than most celebrities. Her presence is persistent, and she haunts every image she touches,” notes Supercomposite.
Loab is an LGBTQ icon.https://t.co/i2vZFAQFLK pic.twitter.com/npFETyBX43
— Supercomposite (@supercomposite) September 6, 2022
Images by Supercomposite and featured with permission
In hopes to exorcise the woman, Supercomposite tried to distort her likeness by piling on the prompts. She would disappear, and then show up again much later “out of nowhere.”
Even when her red cheeks or other important features disappear, the "Loabness" of the images she has a hand in making is undeniable. She haunts the images, persists through generations, and overpowers other bits of the prompt because the AI so easily optimizes toward her face. pic.twitter.com/4M7ECWlQRE
— Supercomposite (@supercomposite) September 6, 2022
Images by Supercomposite and featured with permission
“The AI can latch onto the idea of Loab so well that she can persist through generations of this type of crossbreeding, without using the original image,” notes Supercomposite.
If you dare, you can discover more images of Loab by following Supercomposite on Twitter.
I wondered: is the opposite of that logo, in turn, going to be a picture of Marlon Brando? I typed "DIGITA PNTICS skyline logo::-1" as a prompt. I received these off-putting images, all of the same devastated-looking older woman with defined triangles of rosacea(?) on her cheeks. pic.twitter.com/tnhBzWPHYf
— Supercomposite (@supercomposite) September 6, 2022
Images by Supercomposite and featured with permission
By the way. Loab seems to be recognized extremely consistently with @buntworthy's days-old implementation of image prompts for Stable Diffusion. She's everywhere, hiding. Good luck sleeping tonight! https://t.co/o7k97NSo0O pic.twitter.com/l3hvntIycd
— Supercomposite (@supercomposite) September 6, 2022
Images by Supercomposite and featured with permission
[via Artnet News and IFLScience, images by Supercomposite and featured with permission]
