The iconic cast of hugely successful US sitcom Friends have been completely transformed with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Although the beloved show finished back in 2004, its legacy lives on, with many fans still re-watching episodes, collecting memorabilia, or in one couple's case, creating AI images of the actors.
Husband and wife Luca and Anna Allievi created artwork of Rachel Green, Phoebe Buffay, Ross Geller, Monica Geller, Chandler Bing and Joey Tribbiani as adorable toddlers using AI - and they've been a huge hit on social media.
Luca, a bio-technologist, from Milan, Italy, said: “It started as a game. Something we did for fun. To try something different. The images are really realistic.”
Anna, who sells parts of machinery, said: “Luca has a fantastic imagination. It’s something futuristic. It’s evolving so fast.”
Luca first tried to recreate puppies and cats as their favourite characters before doing the same with babies. He said: “We have our own cats and love animals so we tried to recreate cats as characters from sagas like Harry Potter.”
The creative couple use software Midjourney to input prompts and commands to create pictures by referencing billions of images online. Speaking to SWNS, Anna said: “The process is not time consuming. The long part it to think about what you want.”
Luca added: “You need to use the right words in the prompt. The order of the words is important. You have to describe the person and adjust the prompts as the software evolves. It’s evolving so fast.”
The pair created prompts - instructions for the software - for descriptions of the Friends characters to tell the AI to recreate them as babies. Luca and Anna have been surprised by the reaction from their followers – with many loving their Friends recreations.
Anna said: “It’s really fun to see the reaction.” One commenter said: “They are all so cute.” Another agreed: “They are dead on. Absolutely adorable.”
The couple take requests from their fans and have used AI to imagine baby Disney villains, Harry Potter characters, and singers. Although Anna and Luca love the technology for their artwork, they recognise the dangers of it.
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Anna said: “Sometimes it’s scary and too specific.” Luca added: “It can be dangerous. Some people use it for fake news.”
Friends was recently recognised at having one of the best theme tunes of all time. I'll Be There For You by the Rembrandts was used at the theme tune for the classic 1990s US comedy series and beat the likes of The Simpsons and Doctor Who.
The research was carried out for electronics manufacturer Hisense and Catherine Fang, Executive Vice President, said: "The power of at-home entertainment to bring people together is undeniable."
