Image Analysis with Claude 3 & the Solar Eclipse

Dr. Ryan Ries here with a capability upgrade on Anthropic’s Claude AI model that has me downright giddy. I’m talking about the new Claude 3 multi-modal ability to analyze images!

If you had caught one of my earlier newsletters, you would know that I've been raving about the performance and efficiency breakthroughs of the new Claude 3 model family, especially the Sonnet and Haiku variants. Well, get ready because Claude just leveled up in a major way – now offering seamless integration of vision and language processing.

How You Can Use Visual and Language Processing

Claude now has developed the ability to not just understand text, but to interpret and reason about visual data as well. Images, charts, diagrams, you name it – Claude can now analyze them with remarkable depth and nuance.

Here’s a timely example:

PROMPT

Give a description of this image.

CLAUDE’S RESPONSE

This image depicts a total solar eclipse. The central focus of the image is a bright, luminous circle surrounded by a dark, circular silhouette against a dark background. This silhouette is the moon passing in front of the sun, creating a stunning visual effect known as a solar eclipse. The bright, glowing circle at the center represents the sun's corona, the outer atmosphere of the sun that becomes visible during a total eclipse. The overall image conveys a sense of dramatic, otherworldly beauty and the awe-inspiring natural phenomenon of a solar eclipse.

Claude has feelings? 

Now, what’s really cool is that Claude can also understand visual context, conceptual relationships, and creative expression. Here’s a fun example for you (a throwback to the first issue of Mission Matrix’s image):

PROMPT

Create a description of this image. Point out what is happening in the image. Who is in the image? What is your feeling about this image?

CLAUDE’S RESPONSE:

This image depicts the iconic Sesame Street character, Cookie Monster, surrounded by various treats and snacks. The Cookie Monster appears to be happily enjoying a variety of cookies, biscuits, and other baked goods, including a sack of what seems to be chocolate chips or cookie dough. The character's large, expressive eyes and open mouth suggest a sense of delight and anticipation as it prepares to indulge in its favorite food.

The image also includes a small, wooden birdhouse-like structure, which adds a whimsical and playful element to the scene. The overall composition and use of vibrant colors create a warm and inviting atmosphere, evoking a sense of comfort and childhood nostalgia.

The image conveys a feeling of playfulness, indulgence, and the simple joys of life. Cookie Monster's enthusiasm and unabashed enjoyment of the treats before it are endearing and relatable, serving as a reminder to embrace the simple pleasures in life and not take ourselves too seriously. The image invites the viewer to share in the character's delight and indulge in their own favorite snacks, fostering a sense of lighthearted camaraderie.

But there are real use cases for your day-to-day work.

Imagine applying this technology to medical imaging, product design, or scientific research. The ability to marry visual perception with natural language understanding unlocks a whole new frontier of intelligent analysis and creative problem-solving.

In this example, I asked Claude to analyze a graph (that, at first glance, is a lot to take in) and provide me with an assessment.

PROMPT

From this chart, what would be the best model to use and the best service provider?

CLAUDE’S RESPONSE

Based on the information provided in the chart, the best model to use would be Jurassic 2, as it has the highest percentage (2.67%) among the models listed. This suggests Jurassic 2 is the most widely used and likely the most robust and reliable model among the options shown.

As for the best service provider, the chart indicates that AWS is the largest platform provider, with a 32% market share. This suggests that AWS could be a suitable choice for hosting and deploying the chosen model, as it is a widely adopted and reputable cloud service provider.

However, it's important to note that the selection of the model and service provider should also be based on the specific requirements of your project, such as performance, cost, scalability, and any other relevant factors. The information provided in the chart can serve as a starting point, but a more thorough evaluation of your needs and the available options would be necessary to make the most informed decision.

Yet again, with great power comes great responsibility.

Of course, as with any transformative AI capability, there are important considerations around responsible development and deployment. Careful guardrails must be put in place to ensure these multi-modal systems are not misused for nefarious purposes like deepfakes or biased decision-making.

But I have no doubt that the benefits will far outweigh the risks. The ability to seamlessly integrate vision and language unlocks so much untapped potential. From powering the next generation of intelligent assistants, to accelerating scientific breakthroughs, to enhancing creative expression – the applications are endless.

And you can bet the Mission Cloud team is working hard to explore all the possibilities. We're already integrating Claude 3.0's visual understanding into a range of enterprise solutions. The future is visual, my friends.

So what do you think? Are you as pumped about Claude's new multi-modal tech as I am? I'd love to hear your ideas for how this technology could transform your industry or area of work. Reply here, I'm all ears!

Until next time,
Ryan

Now, here’s our weekly AI-generated image & the prompt I used.

"Generate an image of a person dealing with the painful aftermath of looking directly at the solar eclipse without ISO-certified eclipse glasses. You should see the solar eclipse in the background, and it should be at 90% totality. This person should have a mustache and should be wearing an eclipse-themed t-shirt."