AI and 'preservation'

[Lostbhoy]

In what is being called potentially vandalism, BlueSky user VGDensetsu has spotted a potential worrying trend.

Taito has posted and 'updated' and 'colurised' black and white photo from 1986 in which many of the details are completely incorrect and raises serious questions over the future of research and preservation of the past in general if continued.

The photos below show clear differences in the peoples faces, the denim jacket on the person at the front, the game name has been changed to WANUS... See if you can see any others!

What's your thoughts on this? Personally I think we have ways to colourise old photos and this is certainly not an improvement but vandalism could be an apt term!

Source: https://bsky.app/profile/vgdensetsu.bsky.social
Via
https://www.timeextension.com/news/...-caught-using-ai-to-undermine-its-gaming-past

 

[yankii]

Personally, I want revisionist history with the live action Mario Bros. replacing every world leader in a picture ever.

 

[icegod]

It's common sense, that AI changes details and can mess up text. It's just how AI is at the moment. It will be improved over time. To call it vandalism seems very far stretched. As long as it's labeled AI, I don't see any issue with it. It's still nice seeing how it could have been, even if it isn't 100% accurate.

 

[Sir Tortoise]

It is vandalism if this will drown out and replace the original photos. Even if you think that wording is too harsh or that won't happen, it's pretty plainly a bad idea no matter what we call it.

 

[MPRTwice]

AI is a bad idea in general. you would have to be crazy to embrace it. That's why I teach my students to bully it.

Post automatically merged: Oct 21, 2025

In what is being called potentially vandalism, BlueSky user VGDensetsu has spotted a potential worrying trend.

Taito has posted and 'updated' and 'colurised' black and white photo from 1986 in which many of the details are completely incorrect and raises serious questions over the future of research and preservation of the past in general if continued.

The photos below show clear differences in the peoples faces, the denim jacket on the person at the front, the game name has been changed to WANUS... See if you can see any others!

What's your thoughts on this? Personally I think we have ways to colourise old photos and this is certainly not an improvement but vandalism could be an apt term!

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View attachment 532359

Source: https://bsky.app/profile/vgdensetsu.bsky.social
Via
https://www.timeextension.com/news/...-caught-using-ai-to-undermine-its-gaming-past

Guy in the middle: surprised

Same guy in color: his brain on AI.

 

[nkpad]

Personally, I dont like AI at all...

Isnt it a bit concerning that models like Sora 2 are free? Considered how they might be used to scam elderly people by removing the watermark...

Anyway...

"Preservation" (messing up an image) with AI is useless, I mean, why would you want a color image of some moment, when the original image is okay
Like icegod said above, it can mess up text and important details of the original image, which is TOTALLY useless afterall...

 

[Reploid]

just don't delete the original

 

[DinohScene]

just don't delete the original

Literally this.
Throughout the eons, this.

 

[lightwo]

Looks like a poorly thought out image enhancement. If it were to not touch original detail and instead only add colour, it would have been decent. A dedicated tool would do a better job for sure.

I realise that upscaling was a part of the process too, but whatever happened to the person sitting just behind the guys in front is definitely a separate issue.

Either way, as pointed out previously, while this looks like a neat use of technology, everything's fun and games until the original gets lost... Besides, it's almost impossible to expect an automated thingamajig to do a perfect job no matter what.