Professional AI whisperers have launched a meta marketplace to buy the best text-to-image words.

The rise of artificial intelligence will make most people prosperous over the next decade. That means machines will have the ability to mimic human intelligence. PromptBase, launched in June, is at the center of the new trade-in prompts for generating specific imagery from image generators, a kind of meta-art market.

In the last few years, art exhibited by programs like Midjourney and OpenAI's DALL-E has become amazingly compelling. These programs hold the ability to translate a text prompt into literal (and controversial) award-winning art. As the AI tools become more sophisticated, these prompts have transformed themselves into the craft. And like any other craft, some creators have started putting them up for sale. PromptBase was inaugurated earlier this summer to both intrigue and criticism, allowing users to sell strings of words that net predictable results with particular systems. The platform allows "prompt engineers" to sell text descriptions that reliably produce a specific art style or subject on a specific AI platform. When you purchase the prompt, you are provided with a series of words that you insert into Midjourney, DALL-E, or another system that you have access to. The result (if it's a good prompt) is a difference in a visual theme like nail art designs, anime pinups, or "futuristic succulents."

The new online marketplace "Promptbase" discovers a business model here by offering predesigned prompts for Midjourney, OpenAI's DALL-E 2, and GPT-3, which can be utilized to steer the system in the direction you desire. Prompts are used to post by platform users, and prices currently range from $1.99 to $5. Promptbase receives a 20 percent share for each prompt sold. The start-up also offers a consulting service for prompts. "If you're good at prompt engineering, there's also no clear way to make money from your skills. PromptBase is a marketplace for buying and selling quality prompts that produce the best results, and save you money on API costs," the website says.