Agreed. Laypersons and experts alike understand that fact intellectually, we believe that the past was not black-and-white and silent. But our experience in sc

Agreed. Laypersons and experts alike understand that fact intellectually, we believe that the past was not black-and-white and silent. But our experience in school tells us that a scratchy, low-framerate video is probably from the past. We grow familiar with Hollywood representations of history. Not having any evidence to the contrary, we develop an alief [1] about the past that it was sepia and grainy and distant, when in truth, it was just as vibrant and real as today. No one except Calvin [2] would say that they believe that Gettysburg was black and white, but after looking at a lot of historical photos in a textbook that look like [3], if I go to Gettysburg, see [4], kneel behind the wall, and touch the stones I have a completely different level of comprehension and connection to the people who fought there that I, at least, am incapable of generating for myself from a black and white grainy photo. I completely understand that upscaling and AI can invent things that aren't there, like Gigapixel inserting the face of Ryan Gosling in this photo [5] or Xerox copiers replacing a 6 with an 8 [6], as well as more subtle changes like assuming greyscale pants that might have used no dye at all or natural, local dyes were always indigo blue jeans. The important question is whether or not the AI-invented, upscaled, colorized photos are closer or further from reality than what your brain invents without the aid of that tool. If you subconsciously invent a muted reality, or worse, your brain gets lazy and assumes it's only from a book and wasn't real at all, I think your ability to empathize with and comprehend the past would be better served by a 4k 60fps artist's impression. [1]: http://www.pgrim.org/philosophersannual/pa28articles/gendleraliefbelief.pdf http://www.pgrim.org/philosophersannual/pa28articles/gendler... [2]: https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1989/10/29 https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1989/10/29 [3]: https://www.battlefields.org/sites/default/files/styles/gallery_item/public/thumbnails/image/Then%20-%20Power's%20Hill%20from%20Spangler's%20Meadow.jpg https://www.battlefields.org/sites/default/files/styles/gall... [4]: https://www.battlefields.org/sites/default/files/styles/gallery_item/public/thumbnails/image/Now%20-%20Power%27s%20Hill%20from%20Spangler%27s%20Meadow.jpg https://www.battlefields.org/sites/default/files/styles/gall... [5]: https://petapixel.com/2020/08/17/gigapixel-ai-accidentally-added-ryan-goslings-face-to-this-photo/ https://petapixel.com/2020/08/17/gigapixel-ai-accidentally-a... [6]: http://www.dkriesel.com/en/blog/2013/0802_xerox-workcentres_are_switching_written_numbers_when_scanning http://www.dkriesel.com/en/blog/2013/0802_xerox-workcentres_...