Memories: Original photos vs AI/Colorized/Altered images
With the increasing prevalence of AI photo tools many family photos are being downloaded, digitally altered, and then reuploaded. As this continues I see two issues:
1. Duplicate images and their management (which I submitted a separate suggestion here: https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/140299/duplicate-memory-uploads#latest ) and
2. Identifying and maintaining the fidelity of original images.
While sometimes the alterations made are well-done; some are not. I have seen some ancestors airbrushed to magazine-worthy standards, which seems out of place for the time period. Digitally altered images have a risk of being misleading as well as personally & historically inaccurate.
I would like to see a way to tag photographs as either “original” for original photos and as “enhanced” for altered images. This would help preserve the integrity of the memories. This field or a required drop-down/checkbox could also be included when uploading a new image.
As an example, below is an image of the Memories area of a relative. The original physical images (outlined in yellow) are in my possession. One was the only image we had for years until years later we found a family postcard among my great aunt’s possessions. Another member has downloaded, enhanced, and then reuploaded multiple versions of this image (circled in red). I have no issue with sharing images, allowing users to download, or the use of digital enhancements. If that’s what helps you relate to ancestors, great! But multiply this scenario across multiple images and multiple people and the person Memories area becomes a confusing mess. Please consider ways to address the accuracy, tagging, and management of the person memories area.
