Images of People

The Sunil Abraham Project (TSAP) is considering a preference for original and authentic images when depicting people in its biographical work. During the project’s first year, a few AI-enhanced, stylised or otherwise modified images were experimented with (especially of Sunil Abraham) in limited contexts. From 2 October 2026, as TSAP enters its second year, the project is considering whether original and authentic images should generally be preferred, particularly in biographies of living people.

Why this idea?

During the first year of the project, TSAP experimented with a small number of AI-enhanced, stylised or otherwise modified images (especially of Sunil Abraham) in limited contexts, including some related articles and featured material.

These were limited experiments rather than a general practice across the project. Most images used by TSAP have remained original photographs or other authentic visual material.

The project did not use any AI-generated image for A. M. A. Ayrookuzhiel. This was a deliberate choice. The project considered that artificially beautifying or substantially altering the representation of a person in a biographical context could be inappropriate, particularly because the purpose of the project is documentary and biographical.

This experience has led to a broader editorial question about how TSAP should represent people in its biographical work.

Our preference

From the second year onwards (October 2026), TSAP is considering the following preference:

When depicting people in biographical work, original photographic or documentary images should normally be preferred over AI-generated or substantially AI-altered representations.

This is a preference rather than an absolute prohibition. The purpose is to give greater weight to authenticity, documentary value and respect for the person being represented.

Living people

The preference is particularly relevant to biographies of living people.

For a biography of a living person, an authentic photograph or other documentary image should normally be preferred whenever a suitable image is available. AI-generated portraits or substantially AI-altered representations of a living person should generally not be used where an authentic alternative is available.

This is especially important because an AI-generated image can change a person’s appearance, age, clothing, surroundings, expression or other characteristics. Even when the alteration is intended to be positive or artistic, it may create a representation that the person did not actually look like.

AI-assisted enhancement and restoration

Not every use of AI in connection with an image is equivalent to generating a new representation.

Technical restoration, upscaling, noise reduction, colour correction, sharpening, cropping or similar interventions may sometimes be appropriate when they preserve the essential documentary character of the original image.

The distinction is therefore between improving the usability of an existing authentic image and creating or substantially changing the representation of a person.

Artistic and illustrative images

AI-generated illustrations may still have a place in TSAP where the purpose is clearly artistic, conceptual or illustrative rather than documentary.

Where such an image depicts an identifiable person, however, it should not be presented in a way that could reasonably be mistaken for an authentic photograph or documentary record.

Where appropriate, the nature of the image should be made clear.

Existing images

The adoption of this preference does not mean that images used during the project’s first year must automatically be removed.

Existing material can be reviewed in context. Where an authentic alternative is available and better serves the documentary purpose of the page, replacing an AI-generated or substantially AI-altered representation may be appropriate.

The first year of experimentation remains part of the project’s history. This page records a change in editorial thinking rather than an attempt to rewrite that history.

Our position

TSAP is not opposed to artificial intelligence or to artistic experimentation with AI-generated imagery.

The principle is narrower: when documenting people in biographical work, authenticity should normally take precedence over artificial embellishment.

Accordingly, from the beginning of the project’s second year, TSAP prefers not to use AI-generated images for biographies of living people where suitable authentic images are available. The same preference may be applied, as far as reasonably possible, to biographical representations of people generally.

This is an editorial direction being considered from the second year of The Sunil Abraham Project, rather than a rule that was in place during its first year.

📄 This page was created on 6 October 2026. You can view its history on GitHub, preview the fileTip: Press Alt+Shift+G, or inspect the underlying source.