The Last Supper selfie: AI imagines how historical figures such as Jesus, Cleopatra and Napoleon would look if they’d taken smartphone portraits
No living human can imagine what it was like to sit at The Last Supper or stand in Cleopatra’s court, but AI has provided us with a look at these epic events – and from a first-person perspective.
A freelance film editor recently shared a gallery of realistic images showing historical figures snapping selfies, the result of months spent working out a formula of prompts, language and photographic elements.
Duncan Thomsen, 53, used the software Midjourney, which generates images from natural language descriptions. The images also show smiling soldiers at the Battle of Waterloo and the Battle of Agincourt, along with a grinning Napoleon.
‘The results are hilarious, and everyone I’ve shared my work with can’t believe how real the pictures really look,’ said Thomsen.
‘I’ve done Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth I, Henry VIII, Jesus and many more.’
AI is making waves in the image industry, letting anyone create realistic content just by telling the system what they want.
Midjourney is churning out such realistic images that people are being fooled. An image of Pope Francis donning a huge white puffer jacket with a cross hanging from it has sent social media users into a frenzy.
However, artists like Thomsen are using the technology for entertainment.
Midjourney responds to prompts and commands the user sets and creates pictures by referencing billions of images online.
Thomsen said he spent months working out a formula of prompts, language and photographic elements to give photos this ‘selfie’ effect.
He said: ‘It can be a lengthy programming process because AI requires users to tell it exactly what it needs to do and requires “absolute description”.’
Thomsen added that he believes his technique could be used to teach history in schools.
‘This technology could be used in schools as a new way of teaching and engaging kids with world history – it’s like time traveling without a time machine,’ he said.
He added: ‘You can ask AI to be historically accurate and then it can reference anything, anywhere, everywhere – that’s the beauty of it.
‘I got an eye for image through my day job and have been fortunate to have worked with some really great people.
‘It’s allowed me to cross-reference everything I’ve worked on and explore my imagination without limits, and this is the result!’
While the images are astounding, a closer look reveals signs AI made them.
In The Last Supper selfie, Jesus’s and some of the apostles’ eyes are misshapen, along with one man in the front who has just four fingers.
The detailing in the hair as it catches the sun and shadows on the table shows just how powerful the technology is.
Similar mistakes are spotted in Cleopatra’s selfie, where people have too many or too few fingers, which seems to be the downfall among AI-generated images.
A Twitter user created a collection of images using Midjourney, capturing ‘a party that never happened with friends that do not exist.’
The images appear to be candid shots of friends at a party, but a closer look may give you nightmares.
Two of the photos suggest the women are taking pictures looking in the mirror – one of them is holding up what appears to be a camera.
And the other two snaps show candid shots of three friends smiling and looking forward.
Dr Tim Stevens, director of the Cyber Security Research Group at King’s College London, said deepfake AI – which can create hyper-realistic images and videos of people – has the potential to undermine democratic institutions and national security. Other cybersecurity experts agree with him on this point.
Stevens said the widespread availability of these tools could be exploited by states like Russia to ‘troll’ target populations to achieve foreign policy objectives.
‘The potential is there for AIs and deepfakes to affect national security,’ he said.
He added: ‘Not at the high level of defense and interstate warfare but in the general undermining of trust in democratic institutions and the media.
‘They could be exploited by autocracies like Russia to decrease the level of trust in those institutions and organizations.’
Source: daily mail
The Last Supper selfie: AI imagines how historical figures such as Jesus, Cleopatra and Napoleon would look if they’d taken smartphone portraits
2 thoughts on “The Last Supper selfie: AI imagines how historical figures such as Jesus, Cleopatra and Napoleon would look if they’d taken smartphone portraits”
Absolutely hilarious!
Other than that, it can bring history closer to us. Nice job!