Victoria Beckham as a Viking? MailOnline tests AI ‘Time Machine’

By William On Nov 18, 2022

MailOnline has tried out ‘AI Time Machine’, an online tool that can transform you into a Viking, a Greek warrior, an Egyptian pharaoh or even a 1960s hippy.

The new feature from MyHeritage reimagines any adult as if they were from another historical era, simply using a small sample of uploaded photos.

The science team fed photos of James Corden, Piers Morgan and Drew Barrymore into the tool – and got some rather hilarious results.

Corden looks well-groomed and ready for battle in his Viking clobber, while Morgan makes a real mean-looking bandit from the Wild West.

MailOnline fed photos of James Corden, Piers Morgan and Drew Barrymore into AI Time Machine – and got some hilarious results

New look James? The presenter of the Late Late Show looks well-groomed and ready for battle in his Viking clobber

Piers Morgan appears here as a Roman empire legionary. The new tool from MyHeritage reimagines any adult as if they were from another historical era, simply using a small sample of uploaded photos

US actress Drew Barrymore looks stunning as a French noblewoman, complete with priceless tiara

HOW DOES IT WORK?

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

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

Using anywhere between 10 and 25 photos of one person, AI Time Machine constructs a model of that person in a variety of poses and settings that are different from the original input photos.

Then, using the predefined themes set in different eras, it synthesizes ‘hyper-realistic’ images of the person as a historical figure.

Available on desktop and mobile web browser, AI Time Machine is the newest AI-based photo tool from MyHeritage, the Israeli genealogy platform that launched in 2003 and has since soared in popularity.

To use AI Time Machine, users have to head to the tool’s webpage and upload 10 to 25 photos of a single person, taken on different days and in a variety of settings, poses and angles.

The subject can be yourself or anyone else, but all the uploaded photos have to be of the same person and contain no one else in the images.

If you’re trying the tool with photos of someone else, the company wants your to act ‘responsibly’ by getting permission from them.

It also asks all users not to make fun of politicians by adding photos of Putin, Biden, Trump – and that strictly no photos of Nazis are allowed either.

MyHeritage also warns that nudity, swimsuit photos or photos of minors are not permitted – ‘AI Time Machine must not be used on children’.

The tool requires you to upload the photos first – and only then does it make you log in or sign up to a MyHeritage account.

If you decide to back out at this stage, it says photos that are uploaded without completing sign-up ‘are automatically deleted to protect your privacy’.

‘The name’s Corden. James Corden’: The British star looks trim and ready to hit the casino as a 1950s heartthrob

Here, Corden appears as if he’d been around during the baroque period (between the 17th and 18th century)

‘Pre-historic hunter’: James looks like he could do with a shave and a wash in this scary reimagining

Wanted for treason? Morgan gives a hard stare as a menacing-looking bandit from the Wild West

For those who proceed with the sign-up, a model of the chosen individual is created and cast as in dozens of predefined ‘themes’ set in different historical eras.

Watermarks are added to all images generated by the AI to distinguish them from authentic photos, which could otherwise contribute to misinformation online.

It typically takes between 30 minutes to two hours to create the results from the original input images; therefore, users will get an email when they’re ready.

Images can be downloaded as a set of eight or individually, for easy sharing on social media like WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook.

The feature is free at launch for a limited introductory period (with a limit of one model and 50 themes per user, equaling a total of 400 images).

However, past this limit it will become a paid feature. MyHeritage said it will reveal exact pricing details in the near future.

Barrymore also appears as a Viking with a fetching set of horns. If you want to try the tool, you have to upload the photos first – and only then does it make you log in or sign up to a MyHeritage account

Piers Morgan, meanwhile, looks trimmer than ever before as French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte

Here, AI Time Machine user ‘Nathan’ appears reimagined as an Egyptian pharaoh, a Viking, a Roman army general and more. Left is one of the original input images

To use AI Time Machine, you need to head to the tool’s webpage and upload 10 to 25 photos of the subject, taken on different days and in a variety of settings, poses and angles

It typically takes between 30 minutes to two hours to create the results from the original input images; users will get an email when they’re ready.

AI Time Machine user ‘Silvia’ appears reimagined as an Egyptian pharaoh, a queen, an astronaut and more. Left is one of her original input images

AI Time Machine follows Deep Nostalgia, another online tool released last year that animates old photos of deceased family members or historical figures.

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

Anyone can use the tool on the Deep Nostalgia webpage by uploading or drag-and-dropping an image – although, likewise, to see the results you’ll need a MyHeritage account.

In 2020, the firm released both the MyHeritage Photo Enhancer and MyHeritage In Color, which respectively increase the resolution and colourises black and white and faded colour photos.

AI TOOL APPEARS TO BRING THE DECEASED BACK TO LIFE

Genealogy website MyHeritage unveiled a bizarre new online tool earlier in 2021 that can animate old photos of deceased family members.

The free deepfake technology, called Deep Nostalgia, takes any photo and animates the subject’s face – with strangely realistic and unsettling results.

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

Deep Nostalgia was developed by researchers at Israel-based firm D-ID, which specialises in video reenactment using deep learning.

Anyone can use the tool on the Deep Nostalgia webpage by uploading or drag-and-dropping an image – although to see the results you’ll need a MyHeritage account.