Childhood photographs of transgender people are re-imagined using AI

Childhood photographs of transgender people have been re-imagined by AI in a bid to try and get them to feel more comfortable with snaps of their younger selves.

The Saved Memories project aims to help those who have transitioned feel more at ease with their snaps from their early days.

Each original photo was scanned and used as a master. The AI was then trained with current images of the person.

Using the AI program Stable Diffusion, the childhood photos were edited to align with the person’s true gender identity.

The transformation of the images was made possible by the latest generation of artificial intelligence image processing led by AI engineer Jaques Alomo. 

Saved Memories, developed by Serviceplan Berlin in cooperation with the German NGOs Transklar e.V., Trans-Ident e.V. and Rosa Strippe e.V., sought to transform childhood pictures to reflect the person’s true gender identity using artificial intelligence.

The German project’s first participants were social media influencer Duke Duong, cabaret artist Alice Dee and model and TV personality Lucy Hellenbrecht.

Myles Lord, Creative Managing Partner Serviceplan Berlin, explains: ‘You do not often get to work on a project that is so technical – but has such an emotional impact. 

‘In the end, we discovered that many trans people could really benefit from this idea by giving back a part of their lives that was always missing.

‘Working with Lucy, Duke, and Alice was truly inspiring – their intimate and personal testimonies give us essential insights into what it means to grow up trans and how society can be more understanding and supportive of the trans community.’

Patricia Schüttler of Trans-Ident e.V. said: ‘The goal is not to change the past or correct mistakes.  Rather, the goal is to align these images with the person’s true identity – so that the outside reflects what is felt inside.’

Marlon Stiller of Transklar e.V. added: ‘Not everyone has the opportunity to express their own identity as a child. 

The German project’s first participants were social media influencer Duke Duong, cabaret artist Alice Dee and model and TV personality Lucy Hellenbrecht (pictured, Lucy)  

The Saved Memories project aims to help those who have transitioned feel more at ease with their snaps from their early days. Pictured: Lucy Hellenbrecht’s transformation images, before and after

Each original photo was scanned and used as a master. The AI was then trained with current images of the person. Pictured: Social media influencer Duke Duong

Myles Lord, Creative Managing Partner Serviceplan Berlin, explained the process had ‘an emotional impact’ on participants. Pictured, social media influencer Duke Duong

‘By bringing gender characteristics closer to the felt reality, viewers can block out painful details and focus on the beautiful memories they had almost forgotten.’

Andrea Westhoff from Rosa Strippe e.V., said: ‘We support this project because, for a part of the trans community, it makes an important chapter of identity easier.’

Serviceplan says it is estimated that around half a million people in Germany do not identify with the gender assigned at birth.

They explain: ‘Many report not wanting to look at or share their childhood photos after a successful transition.

‘This may be because these photos strongly contradict their gender identity and may remind them of the challenges of life pre-transition.’