With us to stay, without doubt, is artificial intelligence. But amid all the doom mongering, AI is also illustrating its uses from decidedly human perspectives, as shown in Huai’an of late in the preparation of a unique 100th birthday present.
Xu Zhengfang, a volunteer army veteran and a retiree of the Huai’an State Grid, recently celebrated becoming a centenarian by receiving a gift from a colleague with his former workplace, Zhang Wei, who had just joined the company earlier this year.
That gift was a collection of photos owned by Xu, many of which were taken in 1952 of him as a young man, stationed in North Korea in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea.
Zhang had taken it upon herself to learn the artificial-intelligence techniques necessary to restore the blurry black and white photos of long ago in to crystal clear, colour reproductions and then present the album to Xu for his centenary.
Upon receipt of his gift, Xu’s eyes fell upon one photo in particular. Then in his late 20s, Xu had been snapped sitting on a rock while a 10-year old North Korean girl stands next to him, as the Yangtze Evening News reported on 12 November. Barely identifiable in the original, there is no questioning who the pair are in the AI-assisted reproduction.
That’s when, with trembling hand, Xu burst into tears and pointed at the photo. “I wonder how this little North Korean girl is doing now”, he said.
It’s a heartwarming tale, without doubt. But one that would not have been possible without, firstly, the AI as discussed, and secondly, the Communist Party of China, adding another fascinating layer to the story of Xu’s 100th birthday.
As an old party member and veteran soldier, Xu has always held strict demands of himself. He said, “My life has been mainly about two things; one to be a soldier and the other to be an electrician. I can’t do much, but these two things have been with me all my life”.
Hence Huai’an State Grid, where he worked for 12 years, took it upon themselves to initiate an annual program in which all new employees shall visit Xu in his home, in order to hear his war-time stories and so that they may carry forward the revolutionary spirit of the Communist Party.
That’s when Zhang saw the old photos in Xu’s home. Listening to his stories while he rubbed the faded and blurred images of yesteryear left a deep impression on her. It also got her thinking.
Later, with Zhang’s AI-generated reproductions in hand on his 100th birthday, Xu said, “Today’s motherland is so powerful and beautiful; the blood of my comrades has not been shed in vain”.
