How do we ensure technology reflects humanity in all its complexity?

From accurate representation to understanding humanity

AI may be intelligent, but its understanding of humanity is shaped by what it can learn from the world around us. Images, stories and archives can help technology recognise the richness and diversity of human experiences. Yet everyone should have the freedom to choose what they share. The opportunity is to build technology that embraces human diversity by design – respecting individual choice while creating a future where different ways of living, looking and being can be represented with greater understanding.

Research has shown that facial recognition and imaging technologies can perform unevenly across populations, including challenges in accurately rendering darker skin tones under certain lighting conditions. The industry is working to address these gaps. TECNO’s Universal Tone technology is part of that effort, combining one of the industry’s largest skin-tone databases with a scientifically calibrated colour card covering 372 skin tones. Developed over several years in collaboration with leading universities, the technology enables more consistent and accurate representation of diverse skin tones. TECNO’s Universal Tone challenges the narrow aesthetic assumptions used in technology and advocates for accurate representation

But accurate representation alone does not automatically equate to understanding.

The humanity behind the portrait

A photograph can show us how someone looks, but a portrait can invite us to pause, look beyond first impressions, and consider the person in front of us. It can spark curiosity: Why did someone leave behind certainty to pursue an unlikely dream? How have their experiences shaped their values? What quiet decisions have changed the course of their life? A portrait does not simply show us a person. It invites us to wonder about the story behind the face.

This is what brought together TECNO and internationally acclaimed visual artist Angélica Dass for “100 Portraits of Becoming”, a project spanning five countries.