Abstract
This paper explores how AI-generated imagery on social media platforms like @alookbackintohistory and @historyrevivedofficial reconfigures historical memory through frictionless, aesthetically polished visual narratives. By analysing these accounts’ use of AI to produce so-called “POV” historical re-enactments—such as renderings of Victorian London, the Warsaw Uprising, or ancient Rome—this study critiques how AI sanitises history, erasing its messy aspects and systemic and ideological oppression. These AI-curated images transform the past into consumable spectacles, privileging visual appeal over historical accuracy and ethical representation. Situating this phenomenon within broader debates on image authenticity in the digital age, the paper examines how AI-generated imagery complicates our perception of (historical) veracity. The POV-style compositions in AI-generated historical reenactments echo the visual logic of computer games, immersing viewers in meticulously reconstructed yet depoliticised pasts. These gamified aesthetics create an illusion of interactive historical presence, smoothing over the messiness of real events and making them ripe for ideological repackaging. As Gareth Watkins argues, AI-generated imagery holds particular appeal for contemporary fascist movements due to its capacity to mass-produce seductive, hyperreal visions. This tendency is starkly illustrated by the infamous AI-generated Trump Gaza video, which projects an idealised political future while masking the disorder and failures of the present. This video exemplifies how AI can reinterpret current events as future-historical moments, projecting an idealised future before it is realised. Taken together, these examples reveal the problematic dual potential of AI to both preserve and distort collective memory.
Presenters
Paulius PetraitisAssistant Professor, Department of Digital Cultures and Communication, Faculty of Communication, Vilnius University, Lithuania
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2025 Special Focus—From Democratic Aesthetics to Digital Culture
KEYWORDS
Artificial Intelligence, AI-Generated Imagery, Collective Memory, Historical Representation, Image authenticity
