Have you seen the new avatars on social media recently? They are idealized versions of our friends and family, and a pretty cool way to express your inner superhero. The pic above is an AI generated version of my friend Julie, who does not really have red hair, except for that time she had a miscommunication with her new stylist. The images generated by this this super cool app so many are using is the result of generative artificial intelligence, the neural network magic that conjures images out a handful of pics on your iPhone (sorry, not available for Android yet).
After selecting your images, the app will ask you to pick your gender—male, female, other—and, after paying a small fee (less than a Starbucks) and waiting about 20 minutes, you will get 50 versions of yourself rendered in different styles and poses in amazing resolution. The results are impressive! The app has been around since 2018, but launched the “magic avatars” last month boosting the app to the number one spot in the iOS app store. If you have 10-20 selfies on your phone, and a few minutes to dabble in AI tech, give it a try, or read more about it here in an article from Tech Crunch. Why don’t I post my magic avatar? I tried, but the pics on my phone are all screenshots of flu data, the Highland cow I want for Christmas, our farm, and dogs.