Image generation using generative AI is rapidly becoming a major new source
of visual media, with billions of AI generated images created using diffusion
models such as Stable Diffusion and Midjourney over the last few years. In this
paper we collect and analyse over 3 million prompts and the images they
generate. Using natural language processing, topic analysis and visualisation
methods we aim to understand collectively how people are using text prompts,
the impact of these systems on artists, and more broadly on the visual cultures
they promote. Our study shows that prompting focuses largely on surface
aesthetics, reinforcing cultural norms, popular conventional representations
and imagery. We also find that many users focus on popular topics (such as
making colouring books, fantasy art, or Christmas cards), suggesting that the
dominant use for the systems analysed is recreational rather than artistic.

通过使用生成 AI 进行图像生成，我们收集并分析了超过 300 万个提示和它们生成的图像，通过自然语言处理、主题分析和可视化方法，我们旨在共同理解人们如何使用文本提示，这些系统对艺术家的影响以及它们所推广的视觉文化。我们的研究表明，提示主要关注表面美学，强化文化规范、流行的传统表达和意象。我们还发现许多用户关注流行的主题（如制作填色书、幻想艺术或圣诞卡片），这表明所分析的系统的主要用途是娱乐而非艺术性。