Because we can

Sometimes, that’s the answer you get from Computer Scientists. Many times, an idea comes to light and you just whip up some code that solves a problem that you didn’t know you had.

I’d done it a few times and when I show it off, the answer is inevitably…

Whatever made you think to do this?

“Because I could!”

In many cases, it’s just a throw away but it’s nice to be able to do it.

This was my first reaction to the examples described in this article. Did they start with the end in mind or was it an experiment that yielded success.

Mona Lisa frown: Machine learning brings old paintings and photos to life

The concept isn’t new. Many artists have learned from the masters by attempting to replicate their style. Or, they’ll take their own spin on things. What if the Mona Lisa was doing this?

When you bring the computer and machine learning and what they can bring into the process, it gets interesting.

If you watch the video, I think you’ll be amazed. The Mona Lisa part is near the end.

While actually replicating the actual process would be a challenge – designing the algorithm is certainly within the reach of many computer science students. Some might be inspired to do a stick person and seeing what they can do. After all, an animation can be simplified to the process of putting some frames together.

Of course, the big distinction here is that the process has already been done.

But, you never know – this might be a license to doing something new and unique “just because they can”.