Deepfakes technology and AI bring Salvador Dali back as a museum assistant

Modern art master and leading figure of the Surrealist movement, Salvador Dali passed away over 30 years ago. The Spanish artist had himself cryogenically frozen hoping that science of the future and technology could bring him back. Dali believed that the world needs geniuses and artists and feared 'the loss of Dali.' Sadly, science isn't at a point were we can revive the dead, but technology can at least fool us into believing that we can.

Using Deepfakes technology (which gained notoriety by superimposing celebrity faces onto porn actors'), Artificial Intelligence, old footage and voice recordings of Salvador Dali as well as an actor to serve as a motion-capture subject, Dali is indeed back. Appearing inside a mirror to greet guests at the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Dali AI interacts with guests with over 45 mins of new footage.

The conversations are random so no two guests get the same facetime experience with the master surrealist. Guest who have experienced this close encounter say it is truly surreal and very real at the same time. The kicker is the final trick. Dali whips out a smartphone and invites guests to take a selfie, which is then sent via text. Both impressive and immersive, this sort of application of technology may get a lot of us excited.

Before we get deluded into thinking that this will bring back Van Gogh, Leonardo Da Vinci, and other great masters. Consider that Dali was a true fame seeker and because of his eccentric nature, was photographed and filmed more than most artists. You might get Warhol, or Basquiat, or even Picasso provided their estates allow it.

Salavador Dali would have likely gotten a kick out of this. The man was ahead of his time. He was a filmmaker, he dabbled in steroscopic photography, and even had hologram installations. Sadly, the technology wasn't there yet when he was in his prime, but painters paint to seek immortality. I think he would have really liked this and even put on a good show for his fans.