Computers

An AI-generated Salvador Dali is alive and taking selfies in a Florida museum

An AI-generated Salvador Dali is alive and taking selfies in a Florida museum
This digital Dali has been programmed to peruse the daily newspaper, chat about the weather, and even take the odd selfie with museum patrons
This digital Dali has been programmed to peruse the daily newspaper, chat about the weather, and even take the odd selfie with museum patrons
View 6 Images
One of the three life-size displays in the museum
1/6
One of the three life-size displays in the museum
As museum patrons exit the exhibition Dali catches them to say goodbye and take a selfie
2/6
As museum patrons exit the exhibition Dali catches them to say goodbye and take a selfie
The selfie is then text messaged to the museum patrons
3/6
The selfie is then text messaged to the museum patrons
Over 100 different clips have been generated with the digital Dali discussing his life, art and even the daily weather
4/6
Over 100 different clips have been generated with the digital Dali discussing his life, art and even the daily weather
The project was based on the controversial deepfake code
5/6
The project was based on the controversial deepfake code 
This digital Dali has been programmed to peruse the daily newspaper, chat about the weather, and even take the odd selfie with museum patrons
6/6
This digital Dali has been programmed to peruse the daily newspaper, chat about the weather, and even take the odd selfie with museum patrons
View gallery - 6 images

Visitors to The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, will now be greeted by a digitally resurrected simulation of Salvador Dali. Created using machine learning and deepfake technologies, the digital Dali is programmed to communicate in novel ways, from commenting on the day's weather to taking a selfie with museum patrons.

Unveiled on the 115th anniversary of the legendary surrealist's birth, the project is called Dali Lives. To create this digitally-generated visage of Dali an AI algorithm analyzed hundreds of interviews to learn the unique movements of the artist's face and an actor with a physical frame similar to Dali was filmed in a variety of scenarios. A technique similar to that of the infamous deepfake technology was then applied, seamlessly planting the artificially constructed Dali face onto the actor's body.

A voice actor was recorded, using quotes from Dali's own writings and interviews, resulting in the creation of over 100 unique clips featuring the artist doing everything from discussing his life and work to commenting on the weather.

Dali Lives – Art Meets Artificial Intelligence

Dali Lives spans three different locations in The Dali Museum, from welcoming visitors at the entrance to offering a goodbye selfie at the gift shop as they leave. He appears life-sized on large video screens and is conjured by visitors through the press of a button.

"Dali was prophetic in many ways and understood his historical importance," says executive director at The Dali Museum Hank Hine. "He wrote, 'If someday I may die, though it is unlikely, I hope the people in the cafes will say, "Dali has died, but not entirely."' This technology lets visitors experience his bigger-than-life personality in addition to our unparalleled collection of his works."

The selfie is then text messaged to the museum patrons
The selfie is then text messaged to the museum patrons

The ethics of digitally resurrecting long-gone icons has been hotly debated over the past few years. As technology evolves we are nearing the point where photo-realistic simulations of anybody can be easily created to do and say pretty much anything. And once somebody is long gone, who has the ability to control how their likeness is managed?

In 2015 it was revealed that Robin Williams had filed a novel deed before his death that explicitly restricted the posthumous use of his likeness and image. This was one of the first times such a restrictive posthumous direction had been laid out by a major celebrity but it surely was a sign of things to come.

One of the three life-size displays in the museum
One of the three life-size displays in the museum

This Dali Lives project was developed with the support and approval of The Gala-Salvador Dali Foundation, and it's no surprise the artist's estate was in favor of this enterprise. Dali is so perfectly suited to the idea of digital reincarnation it's hard to imagine a better combination of technology and subject. The surrealist artist, known to refer to himself in the third person, once suggested that, while he generally believes in death, "the death of Dali, absolutely not. Believe in my death becoming very – almost impossible."

Take a look at the making of the Salvador Dali digital avatar in the video below.

Source: The Dali Museum

Behind the Scenes: Dali Lives

View gallery - 6 images
1 comment
1 comment
FabianLamaestra
Something similar was shown in the movie The Time Machine from 2002
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQbkhYg2DzM