AI recreated the appearance of Roman emperors from their sculptures

The researchers explained that the appearance of the Roman emperors was preserved only in hundreds of sculptures. However

even the most detailed works cannot conveywhat they looked like when they were alive. To find out, Canadian filmmaker and virtual reality designer Daniel Voshart used machine learning—computer algorithms that constantly learn. In this case, the computing system processes information through hierarchies of nodes that interact in a similar way to neurons in the brain.

Artbreeder neural network analyzed 800busts to model more realistic face shapes, features, hair and skin, and add color. Woshart then tweaked the Artbreeder models using Photoshop, adding details harvested from coins, artwork, and emperors' written descriptions from historical texts to bring the portraits to life.

“A well-lit and drawn bust withwith minor damage and standard facial features it will be quite easy to recreate,” the researcher noted. “On the contrary, a dataset that includes damaged sculptures or photographs in poor lighting can produce the notorious «garbage» images that are not very realistic.”

Busts that Washart preferred to use inas primary sources, were made during the lifetime of the emperors, so they can give an idea of ​​​​what these people looked like. To determine skin color, Voshart trusted AI - the machine itself distributed the shades so that the surface of the model resembled realistic human skin.

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