New Natural Nudity. AI Powered to be You. Just You. NUCA, the revolutionary AI-powered camera, is set to redefine image creation and challenge our perception of privacy and exposure. Embracing the idea of capturing individuals in their most authentic form, NUCA strips away clothing, allowing subjects to be seen in their natural state.
Remember the childhood dream of having Superman’s X-ray vision? NUCA brings that fantasy to life, offering a unique exploration of what it means for such a dream to come true. Unlike other deepfake technologies, NUCA physically connects the creator and subject, instantly revealing the result. By eliminating the anonymity inherent in internet deepfakes, NUCA combines playfulness with a thoughtful critique of this nightmarish trend. To make this speculative scenario tangible, NUCA is presented in the guise of a typical tech startup, seeking its users through a private beta campaign.
NUCA, however, is a speculative consumer product that is not intended for uncontrolled use in the public domain. Any generated images are only used with explicit consent from those involved. As a safety measure, the project is exclusively for adults to ensure the protection of minors.
Since its announcement, NUCA has sparked a range of reactions. Some express concerns about AI’s potential bias towards body image and unrealistic beauty standards. Others eagerly embrace NUCA’s celebration of natural human beauty and form. This project provokes a crucial discussion on the capabilities of AI, emphasizing the importance of consent, algorithmic fairness, and the societal implications of AI-generated imagery.
Samantha Cole aptly points out the need to address the “explosion of non-consensual sexual imagery that’s seeping out of every crack of internet infrastructure.” NUCA offers a unique perspective by reminding us that humans are more than just objects to be copied and remixed for instant sexual gratification.
The current NUCA prototype is a compact 3D-printed camera measuring 19.5 × 6 × 1.5 cm and weighing 430g. Equipped with a 37 mm wide-angle lens and an ergonomic grip, the camera provides a viewfinder that displays the input image in real-time. Further, select input parameters such as pose detection can be configured to appear on the viewfinder. By pressing the trigger, the camera generates an estimated natural nude representation of the person being photographed. To achieve this, the camera analyzes the photo, the person’s pose (estimated skeleton), and the facial landmarks. Utilizing a custom classifier based on 45 identifying factors including gender, age, ethnicity, expression, hair, glasses, and body shape, NUCA generates a base image that fulfils this prompt using a text-to-image AI (Stable Diffusion). Finally, the image is individualized by incorporating the person’s face and pose, resulting in a unique and personalized nude portrait.
NUCA is an awe-inspiring speculative design and art project developed by Mathias Vef and Benedikt Groß. Its purpose is to provoke critical examination of the current trajectory of AI image generation and its implications on our society.
Find out more about NUCA on their respective websites: mathiasvef.com and benedikt-gross.de.
