Writers 
PLEASE, LET THE DECEASED BE REMEMBERED AS THEY TRULY WERE
I recently came across a photograph posted on social media announcing the sudden demise of someone. Interestingly, I knew the deceased personally, yet I could hardly recognise the person from the photograph. The reason was not far-fetched: the original image had been modified using Artificial Intelligence (AI), substantially altering the person's natural appearance. It was only after looking more closely and giving the matter further thought that I eventually realised it was someone I knew.
This experience has prompted me to make an important appeal to everyone who uses AI to modify, beautify, enhance, or refine photographs of deceased persons before posting them on social media.
I understand that Artificial Intelligence has revolutionised the way we edit and enhance photographs. It can restore old pictures, improve image quality, correct poor lighting, and make faded photographs clearer. These are undoubtedly valuable applications of modern technology. However, when it comes to announcing the death of someone, I strongly believe that preserving the deceased person's original appearance should take precedence over artificial beautification.
We must not lose sight of the primary purpose of posting a deceased person's photograph. Such photographs are often shared to inform the public, particularly friends, relatives, former colleagues, acquaintances, and well-wishers who knew the individual during their lifetime. They serve as a visual means of identification, helping people connect the sad news with the person they once knew, encountered, worked with, or shared memorable moments with.
Unfortunately, when a photograph is excessively modified through AI, the result may bear little resemblance to the person's actual appearance. Facial features may be altered, the complexion may be changed, the face may become unnaturally smooth, and the overall appearance may be transformed into something entirely different from what people remember. Consequently, those who knew the deceased may find it difficult to recognise the person being mourned.
Death announcements are not beauty contests, neither are they opportunities to showcase the wonders of Artificial Intelligence. They are solemn announcements of loss, moments of remembrance, and occasions to acknowledge the departure of someone whose life once intersected with ours in one way or another.
The deceased is no longer here to correct the impression created by an altered photograph, explain the difference between the image and their actual appearance, or object to the artificial representation of their identity. That responsibility rests with those who are still alive and have the privilege of handling their photographs with care, dignity, and respect.
Let us, therefore, exercise restraint when using AI to edit photographs of the deceased. If the original photograph is old, faded, blurred, or poorly illuminated, there is absolutely nothing wrong with improving its quality. However, such improvement should be directed towards restoring the photograph's clarity rather than transforming the person's natural features. There is a fundamental difference between restoring an image and recreating a face.
A photograph may be enhanced without being distorted. Its brightness may be adjusted, its resolution improved, and its damaged portions carefully restored without changing the identity of the person it represents. The objective should be to help people see the deceased more clearly, not to present them as someone they never were in appearance.
We must also remember that photographs of the deceased often carry profound emotional significance. To family members, they may represent treasured memories of a father, mother, sibling, spouse, child, friend, or loved one. To old schoolmates and acquaintances, a familiar face may awaken memories of shared experiences, youthful days, old friendships, and moments that can never be recreated. Altering that face beyond recognition may unintentionally weaken the very connection the photograph is supposed to preserve.
Technology should serve humanity, not undermine the authenticity of our memories. While AI offers remarkable possibilities, its application must be guided by sound judgment, sensitivity, and respect for human dignity. Not everything that technology can do is necessarily what it ought to do, particularly when the subject is a person who can no longer speak for themselves.
Let the face remain the face we knew. Let the smile remain the smile we remember. Let the photograph retain the natural features that made the person recognisable to those whose lives they touched. Above all, let us not allow artificial perfection to erase the authenticity of a human life.
This is not an argument against the use of Artificial Intelligence. Rather, it is an appeal for responsible and considerate use of the technology, especially in matters involving death, grief, remembrance, and the preservation of personal identity.
The dead deserve dignity, and those who knew them deserve the opportunity to recognise them. When announcing the passing of a loved one, let the photograph tell the truth about the person who lived, rather than present an artificially reconstructed version of the person who has died.
Please, let us preserve the original semblance of the deceased. Let us honour their memory by remembering them as they truly were, not merely as Artificial Intelligence can make them appear.
May we never allow the advancement of technology to come at the expense of the authenticity of our memories.
