Saskatoon man vies for world record in AI-generated art

A Saskatoon man is trying to set the Guinness World Record for an image he didn't draw.

Matthew Hazelwanter, an IT specialist, wants to set the record for the largest image created by artificial intelligence.

His work of an oil painting of a forest at night is 39.8 megapixels — about 20 times larger than images displayed on a cellphone screen — and took over nine-and-a-half hours to generate.

“This is the first time that we've actually had an artificial intelligence create a monstrous piece of art, or for that matter, create anything that's recognizable,” said Hazelwanter, who picked up the hobby in December.

Matthew Hazelwanter, an IT specialist, wants to set the record for the largest image created by artificial intelligence. (Tyler Barrow/CTV Saskatoon)

He describes AI-generated art as emulating what a human would do to draw a picture.

“You send it some words like 'draw a flower' or 'draw a waterfall of colours' and that makes your ad, then it just tries to figure out what you mean by that,” he said.

“I’ve been a part of a lot of different AI communities. I have yet to see anyone that’s come even close to this,” he said.

Hazelwanter submitted his application on Tuesday and will learn if he's successful within 12 weeks.