Some viral tweets have ignited a great wave of speculation and excitement among Netflix fans. Tweets include a poster photo promoting a Netflix series, Slaves, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio as leader of the Russian Revolution, Lenin.
But the image is not a Netflix campaign in the real world, it’s actually an artwork computerized by a site called Artbreeder. This is how S3 uses a deep learning algorithm to allow users to combine and edit images on the website. Phan entered a photo of DiCaprio and a portrait of Lenin into the mathematics, and people were shocked at the result, with many believing the image is actually the actor.
Fans hailed DiCaprio’s “sensational” performance, and applauded his ability to portray Lenin, while others cracked jokes about the factual basis of the story and the political dimensions of the show.
An important figure in the history of the 20th century, Lenin, the first leader of the Soviet Union, was also the man behind the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. He was a Marxist theorist and revolutionary activist, calling (1) for the downfall of capitalism; and (2) for the establishment of a socialist state. In 1924, he suffered several strokes and died.
There is no sign that Netflix is planning to develop a series showcasing Lenin, but the tweet has shown for everyone how AI and social media enabled the proliferation of news and rumor. It also displays the promise of AI to produce artworks which are both realistic and creative, as well as the difficulties of dealing ethically and legally with such technology.