Meet the MIT engineer who invented an AI-powered way to restore art

The new method could be 70 times faster than repairing painting by hand
A researcher in MIT's Mechanical Engineering Department has found a way to restore paintings quickly, by creating physical masks from digitally restored artworks.
It’s estimated that around 70% of the art in institutional collections is damaged and hidden away from public view. In part that’s because of the often prohibitive costs to restore old paintings.
The researcher estimates this technique could be up to 70 times faster than repairing the art by hand, something they hope will lead to more painting going on display.
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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-01836-z
This story originally appeared on: Nature - Author:Geoff Marsh