The recent case of the Lily Jay Foundation has sparked debate on whether AI-generated imagery and video should be used to represent project participants in NGO communications.
AI usage has become widespread across many industries, and the international development sector is no exception. At Caritas Australia, the use of artificial intelligence in storytelling is something that we are constantly grappling with as we seek to find the right balance between efficiency and authenticity.
What is generative AI?
We asked AI (more specifically Microsoft Copilot) to define generative AI, and this is the response it gave us:
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is a type of technology that can create new content—including text, images, audio and video—based on patterns learned from large amounts of existing data. Rather than simply analysing information, generative AI can produce original outputs that resemble content created by people.
Using generative AI to create photorealistic images is quick, efficient and low-cost (maybe even free!). You have total control of lighting, of a person’s facial expression, their age and their appearance. In short, you have power to create almost whatever you wish. So why not use it for content creation?
The irresponsible use of AI can reinforce harmful stereotypes
A recent white paper by Fairpicture and communications consultant Kate Kardol revealed an alarming trend of images that reinforce “poverty porn” on AI-generated image sites. These are images that sensationalise, objectify, dehumanise or designed to solicit pity rather than empathy. They create a divide between “us” and “them”. They reinforce outdated and harmful colonial stereotypes about people living in certain parts of the world.
The issue isn’t AI itself but rather the irresponsible use of AI. Many of the problems associated with exploitative humanitarian imagery existed long before the emergence of AI. Generative AI risks accelerating these issues by making it easier and cheaper to create stereotypical depictions of poverty and suffering, with the click of a button.
Every single person you see on Caritas Australia’s website is a real project participant. The experiences of the people and communities we serve are real, and we believe their stories should be shared through their real voices, images and firsthand accounts.
Voices of real people matter
Even if a disclaimer is used to state that an image is generated with the help of AI, there is a more fundamental ethical issue. Each time you use an AI-generated photo, it is taking the place of a real person with real lived experience whose story won’t get told.
For many of the project participants featured in Caritas Australia campaigns like Project Compassion, it is their first time telling their story in front of a camera. It might even be the first time they have shared their personal experience with anyone outside their own family.
In 2025, we met a young man named Lam in Vietnam. Growing up with a disability, Lam often faced discrimination. He mostly confined himself at home because he felt isolated from society. With the support of a Caritas Australia project, Lam was able to meet and socialise with other young people with a disability for the first time, as well as learn essential IT skills that helped him become a freelance graphic designer.
When we visited Lam, he was able to share his story in his own voice. We also handed him a mobile phone so that he can record his daily life and share video messages with supporters in Australia.
As Lam said, “I can use my story to motivate my friends who are facing similar challenges. I really hope my journey can show them what’s possible.”
This is why we do not use generative AI to create images of project participants. When done well, the storytelling process can be truly transformative, inclusive and empowering both for the person whose story is being told, as well as those who see their story and become inspired by it.
Every single person you see on Caritas Australia’s website is a real project participant. The experiences of the people and communities we serve are real, and we believe their stories should be shared through their real voices, images and firsthand accounts.
We need to use AI responsibly
AI is here and it is not going away. But we have a duty to use AI ethically and responsibly. We cannot use it to bypass ethical considerations or lose touch of the innate humanity that lies at the very heart of our work.
As Pope Leo said in his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas:
"In the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanisation, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human...True progress always stems from a heart open to others, an intelligence willing to listen and a will that seeks what unites rather than what separates. (MH #15)"
At Caritas Australia, the principles of solidarity and human dignity will always remain central to our Ethical Storytelling Guidelines.
While generative AI continues to transform the way organisations create content, the stories of our project participants will continue to be told through real images, with the informed consent of participants who willingly choose to share their story with the world.
Every person we work alongside has a unique story worth telling – and that is an experience that even the most advanced artificial intelligence can never fully replicate.
