Well, this is something of a surprise. While I was in the process of writing yesterday’s Cool Beans Blog about Using Your Arm as a Touch Screen, I ran across this video showing a selection of historical portraits brought to life using artificial intelligence (AI).
For each of these portraits, we first see how some incredibly talented individuals take grainy black and white images, add colors, and — somehow — transform them into looking like modern high-resolution color photos. Next, an additional layer of realism is applied by using AI to animate the faces in subtle ways, including moving and blinking the eyes, implementing small movements of the lips, and making slight changes of the overall positioning of the head.
The end result is rather impressive albeit somewhat surreal. In the case of the Abraham Lincoln entry, which commences at time 3:12, I found myself wanting him to start talking to me.
I’m currently in the process of reading Walter Isaacson’s biography of Leonardo da Vinci, which was a present from my wife (Gina the Gorgeous). I recently reached the part about the Mona Lisa and I’d love to see this treatment applied to that portrait.
Some of the comments to the video are thought-provoking, like Pogi Man saying, “Imagine visiting a museum where portraits of historical figures come alive, winking and smiling at the visitors.” Now I am imagining just that thing.
Also, Ileana Habsburg-Snyder gave me pause for thought when she noted, “Your 10th person is my grandmother, Ileana, Princess of Romania. It was wonderful for my siblings and family to see how you brought her to life. Incredible work. Nice job.”
This immediately made me start thinking that I would love to see this technology applied to photos of my dear old dad. Also, to photos of my grandparents. Also, to photos of one of my best friends, Mark “Shears” Burkinshaw, who passed away before his time.
How about you? Do you have any thoughts you’d care to share on what you’ve seen here?
I am suitably impressed – I appreciate the level of processing required for these effects – but I imagine the hoi-polloi will not be similarly struck. “Why can’t they talk? Why can’t we see them walking?”
Ah, the hoi-polloi — to know them is to love them (or so I’m told) LOL
This helps to remind us that the way humans look hasn’t changed much since a very long time ago: 2000, 5000, 10,000 years? This site shows some early portraits of humans. One thing clear is that we didn’t have much artistic talent (or maybe it is just not having any good materials to work with) more than 4,000 years ago. 26,000 years of capturing the human face | Abroad in the Yard
Very thought-provoking!!!
Max you can see this treatment applied to the Mona Lisa at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXCYBsG6ork
at 8:13 of the video.
Amazing!!! I wonder what those original artists would have thought if they could see their portraits brought to life in this way.
Here’s another one: https://youtu.be/S7q7jCmkTCw
I watched that one last night. “Mystery Scoops” channel has about a dozen these videos.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr953QiwNCb3-Dsy3MSqYqA
Spent a couple of hours watching them last night.
“How historical figures would look if they were alive today” was an interesting one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKhdye3pOvU
Have you seen the one about “Historical Figures Re-imagined as Modern People Living Today”? https://youtu.be/xJp4qA489w0
Had not but now I have.
Cool and creepy at the same time. Hits me right in the uncanny valley.
Are you talking about me or the pictures? LOL