From our Bureau of Truly Amazing Technology and Truly Hellish Images
Artificial intelligence (AI) is on the minds of anyone and everyone who keeps up with the latest cultural and technological trends.
The capabilities of AI have increased exponentially in the past two years, leading some prominent figures to issue dire warnings about its potential ability to destroy the human race, as “predicted” in the 1985 film The Terminator and all its sequels.
Its capabilities are as astounding as they are potentially dangerous, for sure.
As some of you faithful Babalu readers might have noticed, Tres Fotutos has been trying out the image-making capabilities of AI over the past few days, with fairly crude results.
But one Cuban artist, Rubén Ferrero Hardy, has not only mastered the art of AI imagery, but brought it to impressive heights, turning him into a 21st century equivalent of Baroque Italian artistic genius Caravaggio.
His chiaroscuro portraits of Fidel Castro are as marvelously stunning as they are creepy. In this case “creepy” is no put-down, but rather a compliment. Is there any other human being in Cuban history creepier than Fidel Castro? Rubén Ferrero Hardy captures the demonic and pathetic essence of Fidel with astounding accuracy and intensity.
Flip through the slideshow above to be amazed and horrified all at once.
Periódico Cubano has posted a great introduction to Ferrero Hardy’s work:
In a striking cross between contemporary art and cutting-edge technology, Cuban artist Cuban artist Rubén Ferrero Hardy recreated the image of the late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro through the use of artificial intelligence.
Ferrero used the software, trained in facial recognition and image processing, to generate a series of digital portraits that capture the essence of the man who brought Cuba to total decline.
The resulting photographs were described as “terrifying” by the author, who gave his followers a gift of his creation during the night of this Sunday, August 13, when Castro was turning 97.
“And to end the day, some horror photos, from the unwavering lack of freedom, to the exquisite scarcity of basic goods…! THANKS FOR EVERYTHING FIDEEEELL! (read with the voice of the child screaming) you have been the misfortune of the Cuban people…”, wrote the Miami-based man from Holguin.
Continue reading HERE in Spanish
Interesting, but none of them comes close to the extent and depth of his evil and especially what it caused.