Robots are creating images and telling jokes. 5 things to know about foundation models and the next generation of AI

An image created by DALL-E 2 in response to the prompt 'a robot hand drawing'. OpenAI

If you’ve seen photos of a teapot shaped like an avocado or read a well-written article that veers off on slightly weird tangents, you may have been exposed to a new trend in artificial intelligence (AI).

Machine learning systems called DALL-E, GPT and PaLM are making a splash with their incredible ability to generate creative work.