If you use Artificial Intelligence (AI) on a digital image of an ancestral photograph to “improve” it (or enhance it in other ways), the use of AI should should be noted. Text at the bottom of the photograph should indicate that the image was colorized, enhanced, or otherwise altered (either by hand or by AI). An unaltered scan or photograph of a document or image generally represents a true reproduction of the original item. While those scans or photographs are technically derivative copies, their intent is to simply reproduce the original.
Altered digital copies are most decidedly derivative copies and in the case of colorization and AI may includes elements (color choices, facial nuances, background details, etc.) not represented as they were in the original. That potential for change needs to be noted. A simple notation such as “colorized in July 2020 by Brenda Smith” or “enhanced via Artificial Intelligence on 7 July 2025” could be added to any provenance information or identifying details included on the photograph.
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