AI Artist Imagines How The World’s Wealthiest Would Look If They Were Poor

In a world where the gap between the wealthy and poor is ever-widening, it can be hard to imagine what life would look like if those at the top of society were suddenly thrust into poverty. But thanks to an AI artist, we now have a glimpse into this alternate reality.
The project was created by French artist Mario Klingemann in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture Lab. The idea behind it was to use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to create portraits of some of the world’s wealthiest people as if they had been born into poverty instead.
Klingemann used generative adversarial networks (GANs), which are algorithms that learn from data sets and then generate new images based on what they’ve learned. He fed GANs thousands of photos from impoverished communities around the world, including India, Bangladesh and South Africa. From there, he used facial recognition software to map out features such as eyes, noses and mouths onto his subjects’ faces before adding details such as clothing or hairstyles typical for those living in extreme poverty.
The results are striking – while still recognizable as their original selves, these billionaires appear drastically different when viewed through this lens: their clothes are tattered; their skin is worn; their hair unkempt; all signs of a lifetime spent struggling against economic hardship rather than enjoying its benefits.
Klingemann hopes that his work will help raise awareness about global inequality and inspire viewers to think more deeply about how wealth affects our lives – both positively and negatively – no matter who we are or where we come from. “It’s not just about money but also access to education or healthcare,” he said in an interview with BBC Newsbeat last year.”We need more empathy towards each other so that everyone has equal opportunities.”
This project serves as yet another reminder that even though some may have much more than others financially speaking, ultimately we all share something very important in common: our humanity.
|AI Artist Imagines How The World’s Wealthiest Would Look If They Were Poor|Inequality|NDTV