Portraits of no one

[Jack Dahlgren]

Thanks for sharing this Jack,

I find the process fascinating.  My only quibble is that almost every image I have seen it make are of a better than average looking person 

True. I may grab one to use as my own avatar for social media. :-)

[Jack Dahlgren]

Jack: You mean training the network with genetic alhorithm and in the end you evaluate what the machine does for the next generation breeding? I was reporting in Adrian Thompsons pioneering work in that field 20 years ago. Only that he used hardware networks not software. The alhorithm used the analogue nature of the digital hardware and was therefore bound to the physics of the individual incarnation of the chip...

Actually a GAN (generative adversarial network) uses two networks in opposition to each other. One evaluates the other. The original ideas behind this sort of thing are not new, but what has changed is that there is now sufficient data and sufficient computing power to make everything work. This is the so-called “AI Big Bang” where all three things came together to create the AI universe. Continuing the analogy we are now seeing elements combining to produce new things. Very interesting times! There will be much hype and also fear but I think this new means of computing is here to stay.

[Jack Dahlgren]

An example applied to anime...

https://twitter.com/i/status/1095131651246575616

[Akira]

Jack, thank you for the further explanation.  This is a stunning technology.  The application to the anime is also amazing.  The Ai seems to understand not onyl the graphics but also the artistic style.

[Jack Dahlgren]

Jack, thank you for the further explanation.  This is a stunning technology.  The application to the anime is also amazing.  The Ai seems to understand not onyl the graphics but also the artistic style.

Yes, very creepy! I almost want to feed an AI my whole database of photos and see what happens.

[Tom Hook]

Fake news, deep fake, and now this - dueling computers competing to create realistic facsimiles of human beings with the goal of making them look just like true-to-life photographs or videos of you and me or the guy next door.

Imagine that!

This new artificial reality generated on computers will someday be pervasive in the wilds of the internet put there to entertain, educate or simply beguile. This is disturbing to me no matter how well intentioned the developers might be. Call me a luddite but where is this all going? 

[Fons Baerken]

Creating people that dont exist..............
Many people dont exist........
How many that we know of?

[pluton]

Creating people that dont exist..............
Many people dont exist........
How many that we know of?

One needs to frequently remind oneself that the image of the thing is not the thing.