## For Facebook and Google, it-s not enough for computers to recognize images… they should create images, too// Both tech firms have just shown off neural networks that automatically generate pictures based on their understanding of what objects look like// Facebook-s approach uses two of these networks to produce tiny thumbnail images// The technique is much like what you-d experience if you learned painting from a harsh [if not especially daring] critic// The first algorithm creates pictures based on a random vector, while the second checks them for realistic objects and rejects the fake looking shots; over time, you-re left with the most convincing results// The current output is good enough that 40 percent of pictures fooled human viewers, and there-s a chance that they-ll become more realistic with further refinements//
## Google-s take heads in the opposite direction// Instead of striving for realism, it-s producing art by letting the neural network run wild and decide on the visual elements that it wants to emphasize// If you give the machine a photo of the sky and it thinks there are birds in the scene, it-ll keep amplifying those avian traits until they-re impossible to miss// The finished work is more than a little trippy, especially if you give it random noise as its source material as you can see above, the results give impressionist and surrealist painters a run for their money// You-re not likely to see these Facebook and Google programs replacing human artists and photographers, but they-re skilled enough to draw images you might enjoy//
