One of the more impressive aspects of Grand Theft Auto V is how closely the game’s San Andreas approximates real-life Los Angeles and Southern California, but a new machine learning project from Intel Labs called “Enhancing Photorealism Enhancement” might take that realism in a unsettlingly photorealistic direction (via Gizmodo).
Putting the game through the processes researchers Stephan R. Richter, Hassan Abu Alhaija, and Vladlen Kolten created produces a surprising result: a visual look that has unmistakable similarities to the kinds of photos you might casually take through the smudged front window of your car. You have to see it in motion to really appreciate it, but the combination of slightly washed-out lighting, smoother pavement,…