AI “Time Machine” will take your photos to another historical era

If you’ve ever wondered what you would look like as a Viking, a Roman warrior, or a medieval knight, look no further.

Genealogy website MyHeritage has released the AI ​​Time Machine, an online tool that can reimagine you as if you were from a different historical era.

A new AI tool, available on desktop and mobile web browsers, turns personal photos from your phone or computer into “super-realistic” images.

Anyone can imagine being an ancient Greek warrior, an Egyptian pharaoh, a medieval knight, a Victorian lady, a hippie from the 1960s, and many more.

AI Time Machine users can see themselves as an ancient Greek warrior, an Egyptian pharaoh, a medieval knight, a World War II nurse, and many more.

AI Time Machine users can see themselves as an ancient Greek warrior, an Egyptian pharaoh, a medieval knight, a World War II nurse, and many more.

Here, AI Time Machine user

Here, AI Time Machine user “Nathan” appears as an Egyptian pharaoh, a Viking, a Roman army general, and more. On the left is one of the original input images.

HOW IT WORKS?

AI Time Machine uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to convert text into an image to create photorealistic images of a person as he or she may have looked during different periods of history.

It is based on a deep learning, text-to-image model released in 2022 called Stable Diffusion and personalization technology licensed from MyHeritage by Astria, an AI-assisted imaging company.

Using 10 to 25 photos of a single person, AI Time Machine builds a model of that person in various poses and settings that differ from the original input photos.

Then, using preset themes set in different eras, he synthesizes “hyper-realistic” images of a person as a historical figure.

MyHeritage specializes in so-called deepfake technology, a form of synthetic media where a person in an existing image or video is altered or replaced with someone else’s likeness.

However, deepfakes are not without controversy – there is growing concern about their ability to facilitate the spread of fake news, inappropriate personal data, and even fraud.

Gilad Japhet, founder and CEO of MyHeritage, who has tried the tool himself, said AI Time Machine is “a cool new way to connect people with their family history” by making them look like their ancestors.

“Over the past three years, we have released many successful features that use the power of artificial intelligence to bring historical photographs to life,” he said.

“An AI time machine is a new twist on the subject, inviting you to travel back in time and see yourself as you might have looked in the days of your ancestors.”

To use AI Time Machine, you need to go to tool web page and upload from 10 to 25 photos of one person taken on different days and in different conditions, poses and angles.

The subject can be you or someone else, but all uploaded photos must be of the same person.

If you’re trying to use the tool with someone else’s photos, the company wants you to act “responsibly” by getting their permission.

It also asks all users not to make fun of politicians by adding photos of Putin, Biden, Trump, and to strictly ban photos of Nazis.

MyHeritage also warns that nudity, swimsuit photos, or photos of minors are not allowed: “An AI time machine should not be used on children.”

The tool requires you to upload photos first, and only then does it prompt you to sign in or sign up for a MyHeritage account.

If you choose to opt out at this point, it will say that photos uploaded without completing registration are “automatically deleted to protect your privacy.”

For those who continue to register, a model of the chosen person is created and cast in dozens of predefined “themes” set in different historical eras.

The Maya (original input at bottom left) appear as many

The Maya (original input at bottom left) appear as many “themes” including the Vikings (main image).

To use AI Time Machine, you need to go to the tool's web page and upload 10 to 25 photos of the object taken on different days and in different conditions, poses and angles.

To use AI Time Machine, you need to go to the tool’s web page and upload 10 to 25 photos of the object taken on different days and in different conditions, poses and angles.

Watermarks are added to all AI-generated images to distinguish them from genuine photographs, which could otherwise help spread misinformation online.

It typically takes 30 minutes to two hours to create results from the original input images; so users will receive an email when they are ready.

Gilad Japhet, founder and CEO of MyHeritage, reincarnated as a 1960s hippie.

Gilad Japhet, founder and CEO of MyHeritage, reincarnated as a 1960s hippie.

Images can be uploaded as a set of eight images or individually for easy sharing on social networks such as WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook.

This feature is free to launch for a limited trial period (limited to one model and 50 themes per user, for a total of 400 images).

However, after this limit, the feature will become paid. MyHeritage has stated that it will reveal exact pricing information in the near future.

AI Time Machine is the latest AI photo tool on MyHeritage, an Israeli genealogy platform launched in 2003 and growing in popularity ever since.

Gilad Japhet as several historical figures.  He said the AI ​​Time Machine allows you to

Gilad Japhet as several historical figures. He said the AI ​​Time Machine allows you to “travel back in time and see yourself as you might have looked in the days of your ancestors.”

MyHeritage is well known for its web-based services and products, such as saliva-based DNA testing kits, which claim to reveal “the ethnic groups and geographic regions you come from.”

AI Time Machine is an extension of another online tool, Deep Nostalgia. released last year which brings old photographs of deceased family members or historical figures to life.

Examples include Queen Victoria, the American writer Mark Twain, and the English nurse Florence Nightingale.

Anyone can use the tool on Deep Nostalgia Web Page by uploading or dragging an image – although you’ll need a MyHeritage account to see the results.

In 2020, the firm released MyHeritage Photo Enhancer and MyHeritage In Color, which respectively upscale and colorize black and white and faded color photos.

AI TOOL BRING THE DEAD TO LIFE

Genealogy site MyHeritage introduced a strange new online tool earlier in 2021 that can bring old photos of deceased family members to life.

A free deepfake technology called “Deep Nostalgia” takes any photo and animates the subject’s face – with surprisingly realistic and unsettling results.

The examples provided by MyHeritage show historical figures come to life, including Queen Victoria, Mark Twain and Florence Nightingale.

Deep Nostalgia was developed by researchers at the Israeli firm D-ID, which specializes in video reconstruction using deep learning.

Anyone can use the tool on Deep Nostalgia Web Page by uploading or dragging an image – although you’ll need a MyHeritage account to view the results.

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