Google’s Pet Portrait App Finds Your Pet’s Historical Doppelgänger · Kinship

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Google’s Pet Portrait App Finds Your Pet’s Historical Doppelgänger

If you’ve ever wondered what your cat would look like during the Renaissance, your time has come.

five phone screens
Google/ Kinship Creative

Finding our pet’s art world equivalent is not a task that we thought we would be embarking upon in 2021 and yet, here we are. Google first introduced the Art Selfie feature within their Arts & Culture app in 2018 and let’s just say it garnered a lot of attention. Now, our furry family members can join in the fun with Google’s latest Pet Portrait feature, helping us answer the age-old question: What would my cat look like during the Renaissance?

While the results may leave something to be desired (it’s about as accurate as the Renaissance painting restorations that fall under the category of classic art memes), it’s certainly a fun pass time. Plus, it’s an interesting look into Google’s machine learning algorithm, which will inevitably rule us all someday, much like the pet in your life currently does. 

The results may not be something you’ll be jonesing to frame and hang on your wall, but you’ll very likely want to share the final product (you can refresh the app with new pictures and let the comparisons and laughs keep rolling in). Using the social sharing feature, you can present to your loved ones your dog or cat’s historical doppelgänger, a gift we can all be grateful for this holiday season.

Avery, editor at Kinship, and her cat, Chicken

Avery Felman

Avery is a writer and producer. She has written for numerous publications, including Refinery29, BuzzFeed, and V Magazine. When she’s not at her computer, you can find her reading, practicing her Greek on Duolingo, and delving into the Sex and the City discourse. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and their cat, Chicken, who rules with an iron fist.