Ian Tan

Ian Tan

A debate over public art

Debate over art is rare in Singapore, so I thought the recent furore over the Samsui woman mural was good to get people thinking about different issues. What happened: A mural in Singapore depicting a Samsui woman holding a cigarette…

You will become the Gen AI expert for your needs

I’ve come across posts arguing that Generative AI is a waste of time because the authors haven’t found a good use for it. Some people say that companies are finding it difficult to demonstrate significant returns from implementing AI. These…

Comparing Generative AI imaging apps

I’m teaching Gen AI to 35 teenagers tomorrow, and I was thinking about which AI Art engines I should introduce them to.  I tried the same prompt – “A quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” – on six…

Newsletter 12: Death to drivel

Dear reader, I’ve been plugging away at this preamble for six hours but it’s no boast. I took a break to have a Father’s Day lunch with my family, came back to my computer, looked at the umpteenth revision of…

Apple Intelligence is more of the same

Apple just unveiled Apple Intelligence – “the personal intelligence system for iPhone, iPad, and Mac that combines the power of generative models with personal context” – and its share price dropped 2%.  You know why? Just check out the key…

Claw your way to good writing

You might have noticed that I have been posting disposable content and my newsletter is three weeks overdue. I’ve paused my regular writing because I’m preparing for next semester’s lessons at NTU.  I didn’t expect to fall down a rabbit…

Embrace your ego

I got to know a young journalist yesterday and she was surprised when I gave her the advice that a big dose of ego is needed in her job.   I told the young lady, “Isn’t it exciting to see your…

Sour puss made with Adobe Firefly

AI Art: I drew a ninja sour puss on paper, then brought the drawing into Adobe Firefly where I tried out different Gen AI image filters. Firefly has gotten so good, I will stop using Stable Diffusion. Here’s the original…

Drawing cats with Lee Ames

As I continued my random fascination with drawing cats, I stumbled upon a now-forgotten series of drawing books by artist Lee Ames. From the 1970s to the 1990s, he created 26 editions of the “Draw 50…” books, with titles like…