Computer Sees Fake Artwork

A new computational algorithm uses "sparse coding" (PNAS PDF) to build a virtual library of a given painter's works and decomposes them into the simplest possible visual elements. A set of basis functions is constructed from a set of random black and white shapes. The computer then iteratively modifies them until some subset of the basis functions can be combined in some proportion to recreate the piece. The basis functions are refined further to ensure that the smallest possible number can generate any selected piece of artwork. [Source: BBC]