AI helps add 10k more photos to OldNYC • Hacker News Board

Re: AI helps add 10k more photos to OldNYC

#51

Post by jfil » Wed, Apr 08, 2026, 7:21 PM UTC

lapetitejort wrote: post #35

brrrrrm wrote: post #6

I checked 3 spots I'm familiar with and 1 is wrong https://www.oldnyc.org/#707133f-a this is supposed to be here https://www.oldnyc.org/#702487f-a also, if folks are interested in these old depictions of NYC, check out https://1940s.nyc/ as well!

Some other historical street view websites: https://yesterdays.maprva.org/#11.5/37.5438/-77.4392 (specific to Richmond, Virginia, however deployments for other areas are in work) https://pastvu.com/

I'm a big fan of Pastvu: go yo the "gallery" view, choose one of the "-stan" former soviet republics, set the date filter yo 1986-1996 and enjoy nostalgia from a parallel world.

Re: AI helps add 10k more photos to OldNYC

#52

Post by butlike » Wed, Apr 08, 2026, 8:32 PM UTC

tux1968 wrote: post #26

Morromist wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah, you're right. That's why she's doing it. But its a weird idea: I like this historical photo, so I'm going to distort in order to add color, which makes it not a historical photo anymore. I guess to her the distortion is so minimal it loses nothing, but to me it loses everything. Its like saying "I love Da Vinci's art so I'm going to draw a moustache on everyone in the last supper" which you probably wouldn't do…

There are some pretty obvious distortions when you closely look at the difference between the historical and AI-corrupted images. But I have to admit, the colorized one has a nice vibe to it, if you don't look too closely it gives a really nice feel for what the moment was actually like, more than the accurate black-and-white. Which is to say, I think it comes down to what you value most out of historical photos; a f…

The photo is oversaturated and psychedelic. It seriously looks like what the world looks like on a dose of drugs. I much prefer the black and white one. They're both unreal in their "same same, but different" ways

Re: AI helps add 10k more photos to OldNYC

#53

Post by butlike » Wed, Apr 08, 2026, 8:34 PM UTC

rexpop wrote: post #24

Morromist wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah, you're right. That's why she's doing it. But its a weird idea: I like this historical photo, so I'm going to distort in order to add color, which makes it not a historical photo anymore. I guess to her the distortion is so minimal it loses nothing, but to me it loses everything. Its like saying "I love Da Vinci's art so I'm going to draw a moustache on everyone in the last supper" which you probably wouldn't do…

> If you really loved Da Vinci's art. Meh, so what if I only love Da Vinci's art to the degree that it's amusing to adulterate with mustaches?

Then you pass both the original and the mustache'd photo across the table while boisterously announce: "look how absurd it is to love something so wholly and completely!" to the room instead of the person the photographs were passed to!

Re: AI helps add 10k more photos to OldNYC

#54

Post by butlike » Wed, Apr 08, 2026, 8:38 PM UTC

thadt wrote: post #12

AI had been a super useful for processing historical data. Interviewed a volunteer last month from the diary archive in Germany, and they're using supervised AI for diary transcription. Going from (old) personalized hand script to text is a lot of work, even for experienced transcribers. Being able to automate the first pass of that has been a huge boon to their processing pipeline.

Can you please explain to me how using AI as a "first pass" (in any context) doesn't simply make the second pass more lazy?

If my name is associated with the first pass, and I get it wrong, there's a gravity to that since my name's attached. If I use an AI for the first pass, get it wrong, and my names still attached... my name takes a hit, BUT, my guilt and desire to improve is absolved a little bit by the existence of the AI tool taking on the first pass. After all, it wasn't me who got it wholly and completely wrong, it was the AI. Next time I'll be more careful, right? Rinse and repeat.

Re: AI helps add 10k more photos to OldNYC

#55

Post by mhhya » Mon, Apr 20, 2026, 3:54 PM UTC

TrackerFF wrote: post #5

As long as they're not GenAI altered photos, I'm cool with these things. I'm a pretty avid member of various history groups, and one thing that has absolutely driven me nuts for the past couple of years is how many people there are that use AI for upscaling and colorization of photos - not knowing or noticing how the models fundamentally alter the photos. A couple of zooms in on the photo, and it is nightmare fuel. A…

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