Google’s new AI feature transforms you into a historical art piece

Google has just unleashed Art Selfie 2, the new and improved image generator that allows you to relive the past with one simple snap. A refreshed version of the original Art Selfie, Google's second generation uses AI to transport you into the action, using custom costumes and backgrounds to give your selfie a historical twist.

While there are plenty of AI art generators around nowadays, Art Seflie 2 invites you to learn while you play, with contextual pop-ups that lead you on a journey of discovery. I guess it could loosely be considered educational, so consider this your free pass for a few minutes of time-wasting.

Unlike the original Art Selfie that identified your historical doppelganger with famous faces from the art world, the new generator uses AI to make you the artwork. With over 25 unique art styles to experiment with (and more to be added in the future), Google says that the generator is a "passport for a journey of creative exploration & learning."

Announcing the new feature in a blog post, Google names some of the art personas you can become, such as "an explorer scaling Everest", "a muse in Monet's garden", or an armour-clad "courageous medieval knight." While you wait for your masterpiece to generate you can brush up on your art history knowledge with the "read more" option which shows you artefacts and stories related to your theme.

Art Selfie 2 is available to try right now on the Google Arts & Culture app which you can download via Google Play or the App Store. For more AI art news, take a look at the laughably bad posters that made it onto the True Detective set, or check out the tool that 'poisons' your art to protect it from AI.