Photographer’s AI Portraits Give Breast Cancer Patients Glimpse into Future They May Not See
A series of images has combined AI and photography to give people living with incurable breast cancer a glimpse into the future that they may not see — from their own wedding day to attending their son’s graduation ceremony.
U.K.-based research charity Breast Cancer Now teamed up with renowned photographer Jillian Edelstein to create the AI portraits. The AI-generated images show what 10 people, living with incurable secondary breast cancer, want to experience in their own futures.
The AI-generated images, which were exhibited as part of “Gallery of Hope, the exhibition of memories yet to be made” in the Saatchi Gallery in London, U.K, were based on original portraits taken by Edelstein.
According to Breast Cancer Now, a team was able to train AI models specifically on photographs shot by Edelstein.
Using machine learning technology, the team was able to generate unique and imagined portraits of these 10 individuals that retain the photographer’s style.
In an AI portrait, Katie Enell stands with her partner Liam on their wedding day in 2025. 31-year-old Katie, who has an eight-year-old son, is on a range of different treatments to keep her secondary breast cancer from spreading further.
Meanwhile, in another image, Oge Onwuachu, chose to see herself proudly attending her son’s graduation day in 2025.
Helena Awuakye’s image shows her on her son Josh’s wedding day in 2030. While 46-year-old Bec Brown wanted to see herself with her children at her 50th birthday party in 2028.
‘The Future Moments They Hope to See’
The AI-generated images were created to shine a light on the importance of continuing research and how Breast Cancer Now’s research into secondary breast cancer could lead to more treatment options to help people extend their lives.
“For people living with secondary breast cancer, the prospect of missing future precious moments is agonizing,” Simon Vincent, Director of Research, Support and Influencer at Breast Cancer Now, says in a press release.
“The ‘Gallery of Hope’ shines a much-needed spotlight on the realities of living with secondary breast cancer, through people sharing their own experiences and future moments they hope to see.”
“This exhibition hits home just how much more needs to be done for the estimated 61,000 people living with secondary breast cancer in the U.K., and the vital role of research in bringing hope — and indeed time — so that people with the disease live to see the future moments that matter so much to them.
“This powerful exhibition uses AI to look towards a hopeful future. AI is changing the world in countless ways, from assisting our research into future treatments to changing the way we can visualize the world.”
Image credits: All photos by Jillian Edelstein/ Breast Cancer Now.
