Politixia
Have you ever wondered what “Star Wars” would look like if it was set in rural Wisconsin? Well, Kip Praslowicz, who grew up in the state, did after being on a “Star Wars” kick lately.
Through a series of prompts Praslowicz came up with, he asked A.I. — specifically Midjourney through Discord — to generate several images, the Duluth, Minn., software engineer told the Journal Sentinel.
He’d have an idea, like: Stormtrooper in blaze orange in the middle of Wisconsin forest winter. Then, he’d see what A.I. would do with the prompt. While he was satisfied with some of the image results right away, others took many attempts, he said.
“Sometimes, it just doesn’t want to do what your vision is, so you just got to keep trying and hope the random generation aligns at some point,” Praslowicz said.
A few highlights: Chewbacca being a Packers fan, an R2-D2/tractor hybrid and droids grilling up … cheese curds?
This week, Praslowicz shared some of the images to the public Facebook group “Cursed AI,” which has more than 520,000 members. Since then, Praslowicz’s post has gotten thousands of reactions and comments.
“I kind of knew there was potential for it to blow up, so I wasn’t too surprised,” he said. “But, it’s probably one of the biggest blow-ups of something I’ve done on the internet in a long time.”
Praslowicz has been using A.I. for the “chaotic, unpredictable humor it can generate,” he said, but is wary of its more-practical uses and what it could become.
Here’s a look at a handful of the A.I. image results Praslowicz got for a rural Wisconsin version of “Star Wars”:
Chewbacca is a Packers fan, of course
Chewbacca is a Packers fan. which for some reason just feels right.
In one of the images, Chewie’s sporting a green and gold jersey and cheering … or perhaps Rrrruuuurrr-ing.
He’s posted up at a bar with beers in front of him — ignore the human fists.
Honestly, we bet this wouldn’t be the strangest sight many Wisconsin watering holes have seen on game day.
Darth Vader might be on the Chicago Bears. Sounds about right.
The Packers/Bears rivalry still stands in the world of A.I.
Cue “The Imperial March.” In one of the images, Darth Vader is definitely in a football stadium — and probably on the field — in his signature black garb. But here’s the twist: There’s a Bears logo on his chest and cape.
“Getting Darth Vader to wear a Chicago Bears emblem took a lot of tries,” Praslowicz said.
In rural Wisconsin, R2-D2 would be part-tractor
In the rural Wisconsin version of “Star Wars,” R2-D2 would apparently be an astromech droid/tractor hybrid.
In one of the images, R2 is connected to four big tractor tires — and in front of a farm, naturally.
Oh, and there’s some small mossy, clown-looking creature to his right. Praslowicz has “no idea” what it is either.
“It’s just some random thing in it, so I just kind of consider it some new creature from the universe,” he said. “Some kind of weird sheep animal.”
Stormtroopers, a Mandalorian doing popular Wisconsin activities
In some of the images, Stormtroopers are getting into some popular Wisconsin hobbies, including snowmobiling and hunting — wearing blaze orange and all.
In another, a Mandalorian is seen ice fishing. Wonder if he caught anything.
Droids don’t know how to make cheese curds, apparently
“The droids run the grill at the annual church picnic,” is what Praslowicz captioned one of the images.
The snowy, wooded scene shows a gaggle of droids standing around a grill with what looks to be cheese curds directly on the grates. No, just no.
Vehicles in familiar Wisconsin settings
If you live in Wisconsin, we’ve got a hunch that you’ve seen an old tractor or pickup rusting on a farm property at some point.
Now, replace those vehicles with an X-wing — and voilà, another one of the images.
There’s also one in which an AT-AT is standing out in a snow-covered farm field with pines and bare trees in the background. Praslowicz imagines it would probably be used as a deer hunting stand.
Where to see more of these images
To see more of these images, you can go to bit.ly/3sBzhkj.
