I don't that "searches it's database for matches" description is a great metaphor for how this really works.
As Andy points out in this article, the model itself is a 4.2GB file. That's way, way too small to work as a "database" of examples it can stitch together.
I think of it instead as an enormous mass of loosley assembled impressions of concepts - everything from a low-level primitive like a triangle to a Star Destroyer. You can use text prompts to combine those primitives - so you could get it to generate something just from dots and lines and shapes, or you could mix in extremely detailed concepts like the Seattle skyline - or anything in between.
As Andy points out in this article, the model itself is a 4.2GB file. That's way, way too small to work as a "database" of examples it can stitch together.
I think of it instead as an enormous mass of loosley assembled impressions of concepts - everything from a low-level primitive like a triangle to a Star Destroyer. You can use text prompts to combine those primitives - so you could get it to generate something just from dots and lines and shapes, or you could mix in extremely detailed concepts like the Seattle skyline - or anything in between.