AI uses Shroud of Turin to imagine what Jesus ‘actually’ looked like

In an innovative use of artificial intelligence, the famous Shroud of Turin was made a starting point for producing an image which appears to match the marks on the controversial cloth.

The latest AI image of Jesus Christ was created by Midjourney software, as per the Daily Star, which said that the image was commissioned by them to mark the 90th anniversary of the first time the famous Shroud of Turin was placed on public display.

In the idealised image, a man is seen with long hair and a beard. Sharing the photo, author Lee Strobel wrote on X, “According to Artificial Intelligence, this is what Jesus looked like if the Shroud of Turin is authentic.”

As per the New York Post, the software was used even before. "Everyone I’ve shared my work with can’t believe how real the pictures really look,” said Duncan Thomsen, adding that AI software Midjourney was used by him through the Discord app.

The history of the famed shroud is long and disputed, as some said that this was the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. With interesting things connected to the Shroud of Turin, the new AI image of Jesus Christ bas sparked controversy, as reported by CBN.

Question over image's accuracy

Speaking to CBN News, author Clinton S. Thomas said, "The AI, depending on its access, was likely to reference several popular images of Jesus in addition to the Shroud before making a picture. The Shroud gives no specific indication of eye colour, skin colour, hair colour, or clothing - this image includes all which indicates it is pulling from various images.”

"Interesting. There's no confirmed historical record of Jesus having long hair though. The long hair descriptions stem from early depictions of him from paintings of people in that time. In addition to His depiction, the description of Him in the book of Revelation is a description of Jesus resurrected, not living,” said filmmaker Christian Newlands, as reported by CBN News.

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“No matter how accurate AI may like to be, it can't be that accurate if the information that gets processed are only depictions,” he stated.

The burial cloth has an interesting history with some saying that the shroud was owned by the Byzantine emperors. However, it vanished during the Sack of Constantinople in 1204. As per the historians, a relic was possessed by the Order of Knights Templar which showed the image of a bearded man on linen or cotton.

The shroud’s ownership was passed to the House of Savoy in 1453. The shroud was damaged in a fire in a chapel of Chambéry, which is the capital of Savoy, in 1532 and it was repaired with patches by nuns from the Order of Saint Clare.

The Duke of Savoy in 1578 shifted the shroud from Chambéry to Turin in northern Italy and since then, it has remained there. It remains in the Chapel of the Holy Shroud at Turin Cathedral.

(With inputs from agencies)

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