As AI becomes more influential in photography and digital imaging, concerns about bias in how faces and skin tones are rendered have grown harder to ignore. TECNO is now using a global project to challenge that problem directly.
The company’s new initiative, “100 Portraits of Becoming,” is built around one clear idea: people should be represented honestly, not forced into narrow visual standards. The project focuses on authentic identity, dignity, and human diversity rather than the polished sameness often associated with AI-generated imagery.
A global archive built around real people
Launched on 4 July 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, the two-year program will run across Kenya, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Brazil. TECNO says the goal is to create a living digital archive of 100 portraits and personal stories from people with different backgrounds.
Each participant will be photographed in natural light without beauty filters, and they will choose their own clothing to present themselves as authentically as possible. The project is designed to resist visual simplification and to avoid the kind of standardized aesthetic that can flatten individual identity.
| Project Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Project Name | 100 Portraits of Becoming |
| Launch Date | 4 July 2026 |
| Launch City | Nairobi, Kenya |
| Duration | Two years |
| Participating Countries | Kenya, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Brazil |
| Archive Format | Living digital archive |
TECNO says the archive will pair every portrait with a personal story. Those stories will cover life journeys, cultural influences, growth experiences, and the moments that shaped each participant’s identity.
The first collection of portraits is scheduled to appear online in early August 2026. TECNO wants the archive to do more than preserve images; it is meant to support a broader conversation about representation, ethics, and what it means to be seen accurately.
Why Kenya was chosen first
Kenya serves as the project’s starting point because of its young population, growing technology ecosystem, and its reputation as the “Silicon Savannah.” The choice also signals that questions about AI and identity are not limited to established tech hubs.
The first participants include entrepreneurs, farmers, artists, dancers, and everyday creators. One early participant, Alexander Odhiambo, co-founder of Solutech Limited, said people should have the freedom to write their own stories rather than let others define them.
The artist behind the concept
TECNO brought in Brazilian-Spanish visual artist Angélica Dass to shape the project’s artistic and ethical direction. She is widely known for Humanæ, a portrait project that treats skin color as a continuous spectrum rather than a fixed racial category.
Dass has long argued that photography should allow people to tell their own stories, because identity is layered, open, and always changing. Her work has been shown at institutions including UNESCO and the World Economic Forum, while her 2016 TED Talk has surpassed two million views.
Her involvement gives the initiative a stronger human-centered framework at a time when AI systems are still criticized for failing to reproduce darker skin tones accurately or for leaning toward narrow beauty standards. TECNO positions the project as a response to those limitations, not just a showcase of imaging technology.
How the imaging technology is being used
All portraits in the project are captured with the TECNO CAMON 50 Ultra, which uses the company’s Universal Tone imaging technology. Introduced in 2023, Universal Tone is powered by AI-based full-spectrum skin-tone imaging.
TECNO says the system can reproduce 372 skin tones using one of the industry’s largest skin-tone databases. The aim is to produce more natural-looking portraits and reduce common issues such as faces appearing overexposed or underlit across different skin types.
That approach places hardware, software, and artistic direction into the same workflow. TECNO’s broader message is that technology should help people appear truthfully, not push them into pre-set visual categories.
General Manager Jack Guo said every image helps shape public perception, which is why fair representation becomes more important as AI plays a larger role in how people are seen and understood. In that context, “100 Portraits of Becoming” is less about camera hardware alone and more about correcting a long-running visual imbalance.
Building beyond one country
After Kenya, TECNO plans to extend the project to the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Brazil. The larger objective is a global archive of 100 unique journeys that shows how technology can help people not only appear in images, but also be understood as complete individuals.
By combining portraiture, storytelling, and AI-powered imaging, TECNO is placing representation at the center of the conversation. The project arrives at a moment when the gap between technical accuracy and human recognition is becoming impossible to overlook.