Saved Memories

“I feel like a gap has been closed for me”: “Saved Memories” - Using AI to reimagine childhood photographs of Trans People

Many Trans people report that they cannot look at their childhood photos after a successful transition: "Saved Memories", developed by Serviceplan Berlin in cooperation with the German NGOs Transklar e.V., Trans-Ident e.V. and Rosa Strippe e.V., transforms childhoood pictures to reflect the person’s true gender identity using artificial intelligence.

The project and the accompanying film, which tells the story of the “Saved Memories” project’s first participants, reached over 165 million contacts on the International Day against Homo-, Bi-, Inter- and Transphobia.

According to estimates by dgti*, around half a million people in Germany do not identify with the gender assigned at birth. 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. The Project “Saved Memories” aims to help trans people be more comfortable with their childhood pictures.

The short film about the project tells the story of the first participants: social media influencer Duke Duong, cabaret artist Alice Dee and model and TV personality Lucy Hellenbrecht. In the film, we hear their personal insights about growing up as a trans person and for the first time sharing their childhood photos with the world- to be transformed by AI.

The film premiered on May 17th, International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersex Discrimination and Transphobia, on YouTube and on the project website www.saved-memories.org. The website also features online tutorials and links to tools that trans people can use to transform their own images using AI.

In total, the film and project have reached around 165 million contacts so far. Important German media outlets such as Stern, Gala, Focus, RTL News, as well as LGBTQIA+ titles such as Schwulissimo and queer.de picked up the story, bringing public attention to the message that everyone has the right to be seen as who they truly are.