Artificial intelligence has used the Turin Shroud as a reference to create the clearest image of what Jesus might have actually looked like.
The Turin Shroud has long been a source of mystery and controversy, with claims that it once enshrouded the body of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion. Now, thanks to AI like with Midjourney, technology can produce a lifelike depiction of Jesus.
The AI-generated image portrays a man with long hair and a beard, his eyes open and looking directly outward, with a portion of his body visible. While this is still simply a modern interpretation by a modern device, the results are stunning.
The history of the Turin Shroud is as enigmatic as the image it bears. When it was first unveiled to the public six centuries ago, skeptics emerged, doubting its authenticity. French bishop Pierre d’Arcis, in a letter to Pope Clement VII in 1390, argued that the Shroud was likely a clever forgery, designed to deceive people in order to extract money from them. He contended that it was more probable that someone falsely declared it to be the actual burial cloth of Jesus.
Scientific investigations over the years have added to the mystery. Carbon dating placed the Shroud’s creation between 1260 AD and 1390 AD, raising obvious questions about its connection to Jesus. In 1979, the Turin Commission suggested that the mysterious stains were not blood but pigments. Furthermore, in 2018, forensic scientists published research in the Journal of Forensic Science asserting that the Shroud had been artificially created.
Throughout these debates, the Turin Shroud continues to be a topic of fascination, raising theological, historical and scientific questions that persistently challenge our understanding of this ancient relic. And now we have AI
