There's a high chance you've seen Harry Potter and co. reimagined as Balenciaga models. Or Pope Francis wearing an unusually hip white puffer jacket, looking like he's about to deliver a hip-hop sermon during Paris Fashion Week. And while it looks stunningly real, unfortunately it's not. This is purely AI-generated artwork, shaped by artists, that's been entertaining - sometimes concerning - people for quite some time now.
The new trend on the rise, it seems, is pop culture babies. Whether it's Joker looking too cute to be scary or baby Hulk, green as ever, ready to smash some, well, Legos, many artists have given it a go. And the results are too darn adorable! Even if some of them have a couple of fingers too many, who cares - as long as Marvel takes notice of this. Who could say no to an Avengers sequel where all the characters are turned into toddlers?
Whether you've been rewatching "The Dark Knight" and got inspired by Heath Ledger’s portrayal of Joker (“What would he have been like as an innocent baby?”), as it happened for Franco, or driven by pure, night-owlish curiosity to see cartoons in real life - it's clear that in good hands, AI can be quite spectacular. Especially when you "make things for yourself out of curiosity and have fun with it," as Milan would say.
