[Signed] Typical World by Taro Karibe Photo Collection

About the productJapanese

In the darkness of the lightless cave,
It is difficult to distinguish between your own shadow and the shadow of others.

-Taro Karibe

The rapid evolution of generative AI over the past few years has brought new possibilities to humanity, but also foreshadowed unknown threats. However, what is generated from massive amounts of data often lacks diversity and tends to lead to an averaged, "typical" world.

This work uses the image generation AI "Stable Diffusion" and incorporates the word "typical" into the prompt to explore how AI perceives and expresses "typical."

"Typical peace," "Typical president," "Typical terrorist," "Typical love" --

The "Typical World" created by generative AI, which supposedly has infinite possibilities, poses hidden questions about our future.

This book was unveiled at PARIS PHOTO, one of the world's largest photography fairs, in November 2024 and was highly praised by European readers. It has now gone on sale in Japan to coincide with Taro Karibe's solo exhibition "Anatomy of the Cave," to be held at the art gallery HECTARE in Shibuya, Tokyo from January 11 to February 9, 2025.

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Stable Diffusion, which was used in this work, is one of the main image generation AI tools currently in use around the world, and is developed by a specific company in a specific region. Since it is created based on someone's point of view, the generated images may seem to be entirely fictional, but they are actually full of real social norms, politics, belief systems, and prejudices.

When I try to create an image using an image-generating AI, I add the word "typical" followed by a word I choose based on my own criteria. This creates a typical world that the AI wants to show. This typical world interacts with the real world in every dimension, amplifying a particular worldview.

In the darkness of a lightless cave, it is difficult to distinguish your own shadow from the shadows of others.

September 27, 2024
Taro Karibe
*From the afterword in this book (Japanese only)

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Product Information

release date Available now

Part numberGPHT12120J-2510000439994

Specification Limited to 1000 copies (signed, edition numbered, and in Japanese)
Photos and words: Taro Karibe
Editing and bookbinding design: Satoru Machiguchi
Design: Shimizu Sara (MATCH and Company., Ltd.)
Format: 237mm length/168mm width
Number of pages: 32 pages
Number of photos: 30
Specifications: Thread-stitched paperback
Published by: bookshop M

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