A computer
algorithm that modifies images by mimicking the rules of natural selection can
work with people to evolve novel works of art. A new breed of art has evolved.
A computer program has been built that creates digital artworks using
algorithms that mimic natural selection. Researchers at Nagoya University in
Japan built the software after learning how artistic methods are passed down
through generations. Paintings that have remained to the present were painted
by scaling, rotating and combining motifs that had already existed. This
appeared to echo the process of biological evolution, in which traits are
inherited and altered from parent to child.
To use the
program, a person first indicates the style of art that they like. Then they
select a picture from a few preloaded images to feed into an algorithm. The
algorithm mutates the image in different ways: chopping it in half, overlaying
it on another image or randomly altering it. The resulting images are either
culled or kept depending on how closely they adhere to the user's initial
stylistic choices, and the process repeats. The person can stop the process at
any time and select an image they like, or let it keep running. Finally, the
person adds colour to the image, as the program currently manipulates the
images in black and white.
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