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Types of Generative AI

Technology
Updated:
6/17/25
Published:
12/26/24
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Types of Generative AI

The Generative AI market is projected to reach an astounding $109.37 billion by 2030!

This increase highlights the potential of GenAI across industries like Software Development and finance.

Navigating this fast-paced scene can feel like trying to catch lightning in a bottle.

That's why we'll pivot through the different branches of GenAI and their applications.

What is Generative AI?

GenAI is a subset of Artificial Intelligence focused on creating new content—from human-like text to image generation.

GenAI models learn patterns from a training dataset.

To do so, GenAI models often harness Neural Networks (NNs), algorithms that mimic human brain processes.

They later use this knowledge to generate new samples that resemble the original data.

The roots of GenAI can be traced back to the early days of AI research, with simple models like Markov chains

Later, in the 60s, ELIZA appeared, which is now known as the first historical example of GenAI.

However, it wasn't until recent advances in Deep Learning that GenAI began to flourish.

Some edges of this rise include Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) and Variational Autoencoders (VAEs),

How Does Generative AI Work?

Generative AI models analyze patterns and structures within existing data, such as images, text or music. 

Through extensive training, GenAI models develop the ability to generate new and original content.

Yet, this new content mirrors the characteristics of the original data. 

If a model is exposed to cat images, it could identify defining features like ear shapes or fur textures.

It will then use this knowledge to produce new cat images that appear strikingly realistic. 

This ability to generate new content goes from generating art and music to assisting in design and content creation.

Generative vs Discriminative Models

Generative AI and discriminative models are key concepts in AI.

Furthermore, each serves distinct purposes and operates through different mechanisms.

GenAI models create content, from images to music, that's similar to the data they were trained on.

Within this concept, GANs consist of two Neural Network architectures training against each other.

As a result, they have the ability to generate realistic outputs.

In contrast, discriminative models excel at classifying data.

This is great for …and learning to make predictions about new data points based on their previous classifications. 

A well-known example would be logistic regression, which is used for binary classification tasks.

Main Types of Generative AI

Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs)

GANs consist of two Neural Networks, a generator and a discriminator.

These work by constantly trying to outsmart each other until reaching an equilibrium.

In this process, the generator creates realistic data and the discriminator distinguishes between real and generated data.

This adversarial dynamic drives both networks to improve, leading to remarkably authentic outputs.

For example, NVIDIA introduced StyleGAN-XL, a GAN model capable of generating incredibly detailed images.

This shows the ongoing advancements in GAN-based image synthesis!

Besides, GANs have been used in fashion design to create virtual clothing prototypes.

It's also used as well as in medical imaging to generate synthetic data used in training and research purposes.

Generative Adversarial Networks - Capicua UX Driven Product Development

Variational Autoencoders (VAEs)

VAEs learn to encode high-quality data into a simpler representation.

It then decodes it back to its original form with subtle variations.

This ability to understand and manipulate the underlying structure of data enables VAEs to generate new samples.

These samples offer similar characteristics to those of the training data.

In recent years, VAEs have been employed in drug discovery to generate novel molecular structures with desired properties.

Another use includes anomaly detection to identify unusual patterns in massive datasets.

Variational Autoencoders - Capicua UX Driven Product Development

Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs)

With their unique memory-like quality, RNNs can process sequential data where context and order are crucial.

This logic makes Recurrent Neural Networks great for Natural Language Processing, AI music generators and time-series analysis.

Recurrent Neural Networks maintain an internal memory of past inputs.

This allows them to understand the relations between words in a sentence or notes in a melody.

As a result, RRNs generate coherent and contextually relevant outputs.

RNNs have powered numerous real-world applications, including translation services like Google Translate!

Recurrent Neural Networks - Capicua UX Driven Product Development

Transformer-based Models

Transformer models use attention mechanisms to weigh the importance of different words in a sentence. 

This process allows for a nuanced understanding of context and long-range dependencies.

As a result, Transformed-based models can generate coherent and contextually relevant high-quality text.

OpenAI's GPT (Generative Pre-trained transformer), particularly GPT-4, has become the gold standard for transformer-based models.

GPT-4 can now also accept original images as input, allowing for richer and more personalized experiences.

Transformer-based Models - Capicua UX Driven Product Development

Autoregressive Models

Autoregressive models predict future values based on past observations.

This makes them ideal for time-series forecasting and sequence-generation tasks.

AMs operate sequentially, generating one element at a time based on the previous ones.

They're mostly used to predict stock prices and weather patterns.

WaveNet, a Deep Generative model for raw audio, uses autoregressive principles to produce high-fidelity speech and music.

This pushes the boundaries of audio generation!

What is the Future of Generative AI?

From its simplest form to the most complex one, Generative AI tools are reinventing our lives.

We've seen advances in transformer architectures, such as multimodal models like DALL-E 3.

These are taking the lead in generating high-quality images from textual descriptions!

There's also improved training techniques like Reinforcement Learning (RL) pushing boundaries! 

GenAI's influence is expanding further into industries like healthcare.

Here, it can assist in creating synthetic medical images for research, as exemplified by Google's Med-PaLM 2.

Its role in human-like content generation, marketing and entertainment is also set to explode.

Tools like RunwayML are empowering creators to generate stunning visuals and audio.

Conclusion

Generative AI is a powerful tool that can spark human creativity.

However, remember that AI is added value is equal to the human intelligence that guides it!

As a UX-driven Product Development agency, we know the value GenAI can add to our lives.

Reach out to shape the future with us!

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