AI imagines how historical figures such as Jesus, Cleopatra and Napoleon would look if they’d taken smartphone portraits

No living human can imagine what it was like to sit at The Last Supper or stand in Cleopatra’s court, but AI has provided us with a look at these epic events – and from a first-person perspective.

A freelance film editor recently shared a gallery of realistic images showing historical figures snapping selfies, which he spent months working out a formula of prompts, language and photographic elements.

Duncan Thomsen, 53, used the software Midjourney, which generates images from natural language descriptions, also shows smiling soldiers at the Battle of Waterloo and the Battle of Agincourt, along with a grinning Napoleon.

‘The results are hilarious, and everyone I’ve shared my work with can’t believe how real the pictures really look,’ said Thomsen.

AI is making waves in the image industry, letting anyone create realistic content just by telling the system what they want.

Midjourney is churning out such realistic images that people are being fooled – it created an image of Pope Francis donning a huge white puffer jacket with a cross hanging from it has sent social media users into a frenzy.

However, artists like Thomsen are using the technology for entertainment.

Midjourney responds to prompts and commands the user sets and creates pictures by referencing billions of images online.

Thomsen said he spent months working out a formula of prompts, language and photographic elements to give photos this ‘selfie’ effect.