Visualizing absence: 3D reconstructions of vanished buildings from historical images. Reflections on the preliminary findings from the AI-PastScapes project
FBK Aula Piccola
Fondazione Bruno Kessler - Polo delle Scienze Umane e sociali
3D historical reconstructions have gained popularity in recent years as powerful tools for research, education, and preservation. In urban history, they help visualise urban continuity and change and investigate past uses and experiences of public and private spaces. Yet creating such 3D models is complex and time consuming. AI PastScapes, an exploratory project recently funded by the Dutch Research Council, investigates how Artificial Intelligence can be used effectively to automate the 3D reconstruction of vanished buildings using historical images. This talk takes the preliminary results of this project as a point of departure, asking what will change when such tools become more widely available: who decides what is worth remembering and virtually “rebuilding”? What counts as evidence versus inference, and how should uncertainty, provenance and authorship be communicated? How can we protect against persuasive but speculative models and the potential misuse of reconstructed pasts? These questions already recur in hand-crafted (digital) reconstructions but are now magnified by AI developments. By reflecting on successes and limits, this talk opens a discussion to develop a practical framework for engaging with AI mediated 3D history responsibly.
Discussant: Elisa Farella (FBK-3DOM)
CHIARA PICCOLI | University of Amsterdam
JIP GREVEN | 3DUniversum
SEZER KARAOĞLU | Unıversity of Amsterdam, 3DUniversum
THEO GEVERS | Unıversity of Amsterdam, 3DUniversum
Seminar cycle: “AI and history“
Organization:
Federico Mazzini (Università degli Studi di Padova)
Andrea Pojer (Università di Trento – FBK-ISIG)
Massimo Rospocher (FBK-ISIG)
Sandra Toffolo (FBK-ISIG)
ISIG is accredited or qualified to provide training for school staff in Trentino.
The event will be held in English.
The presentation will take place in presence in FBK’s Aula Piccola, subject to availability, and online.
Registration is mandatory by 29 October 2025 at noon.
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Image: AdobeStock_1037404632
Speakers
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Chiara Piccoli - SpeakerUniversity of AmsterdamChiara Piccoli is a Research Associate at the 4D Research Lab at the University of Amsterdam. Her research examines the historical interplay between people, their built environments, and material culture, leveraging digital methodologies such as 3D modelling and GIS mapping. Her current projects investigate the implications of Artificial Intelligence for representing the past and contribute to the development of interactive 3D/4D platforms that allow scholars to run real-time simulations and visualize uncertainty, promoting methodologically transparent 3D visualizations. She is part of the editorial board of Pure3D, an infrastructure for the publication and preservation of 3D scholarship with a focus on digital heritage and impactful storytelling. At the University of Amsterdam, she teaches courses across the departments of archaeology, urban history, and conservation and restoration.
Registration
Registration to this event is mandatory.
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Organizers
The initiative was also realized thanks to the contribution of "Direzione generale Educazione, ricerca e istituti culturali" of the Ministry of Culture.