If you're breathing Delhi air, you will resonate with this viral post immediately. On Wednesday afternoon, Digital Artist Madhav Kohli took to Instagram to create a carousel of photos created with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI), captioned 'What will New Delhi and its battle with pollution look like in the future?'
Any Instagram user would be aware of the ongoing AI photo trend where people submit images of themselves to an image generator and post several avatars of themselves. Kohli's take on this trend sees people from different walks of life dealing with pollution in a dystopic Delhi. The art has allusions to pandemics and epidemics alike, as the subjects wear hazmat suits and gas masks to battle air pollution. His attention to detail captures hopeless eyes, troubled skin, and forlorn expressions no matter the age.
We are introduced to this new Delhi with a desolate-looking old lady, clutching a bottle for dear life. It's almost as if she is asking for help. The bird's eye view of Humayun's tomb just about shows us the dome. The rest is covered with yellow smog as far as the eye can see. We see the youth harbour rampant frown lines, if not a wrinkle between the eyebrows. Such is even noticed when a man has to go grocery shopping wearing a full-blown suit clutching onto his vegetables as if that is the only good thing in his life. Here the contrast between the bright fruits and vegetables and the dark subject reinforces his sadness.
The whole series is beautiful; each picture tells a story. It wasn't hard to imagine a world like this with the current state of air pollution, Kolhi's powerful art makes it all the more vivid.
The post has mixed reactions. Some netizens deem it scary while some say "these are so good, make more concepts." The lucidity of the AI images have people debating the governments' current accountability and what it will be like if Kohli's art becomes reality.