--- title: "New Algorithm Is a Lot Like the “Enhance!” Feature In “CSI”" description: "Researchers at Duke University have developed an AI that can generate a detailed computer-generated portrait of a human face from a pixelized version." date: "2020-06-15" modified: "2020-06-15" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/algorithm-enhance-csi" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "artificial intelligence" - "gan" - "gans" - "generative adversarial network" - "machine learning" - "the digest" --- # New Algorithm Is a Lot Like the “Enhance!” Feature In “CSI” ![Researchers at Duke University have developed an AI that can generate a detailed computer-generated portrait of a human face from a pixelized version.]() *\Image: Menon et al.\* ## Enhance! Researchers at Duke University have developed an algorithm that can upsample a detailed computer-generated portrait of a human face from a heavily pixelated version. It's strikingly similar to the much-memed ["Enhance!" tool]() from TV crime dramas like "CSI," which can seemingly pull information out of thin air. The researchers' AI, dubbed [PULSE]() (Self-Supervised Photo Upsampling via Latent Space Exploration of Generative Models), can generate photorealistic images of faces that are 64 times the resolution of the source image. For instance, a heavily pixelated 16x16-pixel image of a face can be converted into a 1024 x 1024 pixel image. "Never have super-resolution images been created at this resolution before with this much detail," Duke computer scientist Cynthia Rudin, the lead researcher on the project, said in [a statement](). ## Zoom In The researchers are hoping the technology could one day be used in a variety of fields including medicine, microscopy, and even satellite imagery. To be clear, the researchers didn't just turn made-up technology from "CSI" into reality. The tool is only capable of generating new realistic faces, using the pixelated source as a guide — not definitively piece together what the original face actually looked like. Still, the results can be eerily similar to the input image — even if it probably wouldn't be admissible in a court of law. The AI uses a machine learning technique called a "generative adversarial network," or GAN, in which two neural networks are fed a large number of photos. One creates the generated faces while the other analyzes the results and makes sure it's convincing enough according to a set of parameters. **READ MORE:** [Artificial intelligence makes blurry faces look more than 60 times sharper]() \[Duke University\] **More on GANs:** *[Watch an AI Turn Music Into a Brain-Melting Visualization]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()