AI "Girl with a Pearl" causing a stir

At first glance it seems to be just a modern take on Johannes Vermeer's masterpiece "Girl with a Pearl Earring". But look more closely and things get a little strange.

Firstly, there are two glowing earrings in the image hanging in the Mauritshuis museum in the Dutch city of The Hague. And aren't those freckles on her face actually... a slightly inhuman shade of red?

That's because the work -- one of several fan recreations replacing the 1665 original while it's on loan for a huge Vermeer show at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum -- was made using artificial intelligence (AI).

Its presence has sparked a fierce debate, with questions over whether it belongs in the hallowed halls of the Mauritshuis -- and whether it should be classed as art at all.

"The people who selected this, they liked it, they knew that it was AI, but we liked the creation. So we chose it, and we hung it."

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230310-girl-with-ai-earrings-sparks-dutch-art-controversy