As artificial intelligence continues to shape how people are seen and represented, TECNO is reinforcing its commitment to ensuring technology reflects humanity in all its complexity. Guided by the belief that technology should help the world see people more truthfully, TECNO has partnered with Brazilian visual artist Angélica Dass to launch “100 Portraits of Becoming,” a two-year global initiative that begins in Nairobi, Kenya.
Co-created with Angélica Dass, the “100 Portraits of Becoming” initiative aims to capture 100 authentic portraits of individuals from around the world while documenting their unique journeys of becoming. The project brings together people from diverse backgrounds to celebrate authentic representation, identity, dignity, and human becoming in the age of AI.
The collaboration reflects a shared commitment to recognizing the true diversity of human life. It combines TECNO’s inclusive imaging innovation, which helps individuals be represented more fairly, with Dass’s human-centered approach to portrait photography.
“Every image shapes assumptions — why it matters, who matters, and how people are understood. That makes fair and accurate representation increasingly important in the AI era. But beyond representation lies a bigger question: who is the real person behind the image?” said Jack Guo, General Manager at TECNO. “Through this project, we want to move beyond representation as technical accuracy alone and explore representation as recognition — enabling technology not only to capture people faithfully, but to help people feel truly seen. By moving beyond bias, labels, and stereotypes, we hope to build a future where technology reflects people more authentically and allows the world to understand them more fully. Truthful representation is the foundation of genuine human understanding.”
“As a photographer, I realize that I can be a channel for others to communicate. The ‘100 Portraits of Becoming’ initiative with TECNO creates such a channel for people to speak for themselves and be seen on their own terms. That is why this collaboration with TECNO felt meaningful to me,” said Angélica Dass.
“My portrait practice has always been less about documenting appearance and more about creating space for people to exist beyond assumptions. What moved me about this collaboration is the shared vision and the possibility of bringing that intention into a medium used by millions every day. I am excited that this initiative is not about defining people — it is about allowing identity to remain open, layered, and human. Because being visible is not the same as being understood. True recognition begins when we are seen as we really are.”
A Global Initiative for Authentic Representation
The “100 Portraits of Becoming” initiative focuses on capturing authentic portraits while encouraging conversations about identity, dignity, and representation in an AI-driven world. By documenting personal stories alongside each portrait, TECNO and Angélica Dass aim to create a meaningful collection that reflects the diversity of humanity and encourages greater understanding across cultures.
The initiative also highlights TECNO’s vision of developing imaging technology that represents people fairly while recognizing the importance of preserving individuality and authenticity.
Angélica Dass: Seeing Humanity Beyond Skin Tones
The collaboration with Angélica Dass is a natural extension of TECNO’s vision and Dass’s exploration of how technology, culture, and personal stories come together to create truthful forms of human representation.
An award-winning Brazilian-Spanish visual artist best known for Humanæ, a global portrait series that challenges conventional ideas of racial identity, Dass recognized long before others that skin tones are more than just colors. They are reflections of unique cultures and individual identities. Her work emphasizes that every person deserves to be viewed as an individual rather than a category.
In her portrait practice, Dass allows the individuality of each subject to come through, treating skin tone not as a label but as an entry point into personal narratives. Her work has reached audiences worldwide, including her 2016 TED Talk on skin and identity, which has been viewed by more than two million people. Her work has also been showcased at the World Economic Forum, UNESCO, AMNH, the Migration Museum in London, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. In addition, it has appeared in publications including National Geographic, Vogue, and Foreign Affairs.
“One thing I appreciate about the ‘100 Portraits of Becoming’ initiative is our shared belief that portraiture is not simply about recording appearance visually. It is a way of questioning assumptions, challenging labels, and creating space for people to be seen and understood beyond stereotypes.”
From 100 Portraits to 100 Ways of Seeing Humanity in Five Countries
Through “100 Portraits of Becoming,” Dass will photograph 100 individuals across five countries, beginning in Kenya. Participants who register through the project’s dedicated global website will be photographed in natural light, without filters, and wearing attire of their own choosing to help ensure authenticity.
Alongside their portraits, participants will share personal stories about their growth and evolution, illustrating how they have navigated cultural and societal changes to become who they are today.
The portraits and stories will be featured on the project’s website as part of a “Living Archive.” The digital repository is designed to create a space where people from all walks of life can be seen, heard, and understood as part of a broader human story. The archive also aims to sustain conversations about dignity and identity as AI continues to reshape representation.
TECNO Universal Tone: Expanding What Technology Can See
“100 Portraits of Becoming” will be captured using the TECNO CAMON 50 Ultra, powered by TECNO Universal Tone Technology, which serves as the technological foundation for the initiative’s commitment to truthful representation.
Historically, mainstream AI models and imaging algorithms have often been trained using datasets that conform to a narrow range of aesthetics. As a result, they have often struggled to accurately reflect the full diversity of humanity. According to TECNO, people with non-fair skin tones have frequently been misrepresented in mobile photography by being over-brightened, underexposed, or rendered in ways that do not accurately reflect their appearance.
Launched in 2023, TECNO Universal Tone is the industry’s most advanced AI-powered full-spectrum skin tone imaging technology. It integrates TECNO’s industry-benchmark multi-skin-tone color card featuring 372 skin tones and expanding, together with the industry’s largest and most accurate skin tone database.
By supporting more accurate capture across the full spectrum of human skin tones, TECNO Universal Tone allows portraits to begin from a place of fairness and authenticity. Rather than correcting subjects toward a narrow standard, the technology helps represent individuals with the dignity, nuance, and truthfulness that the initiative seeks to achieve.
From Nairobi to the World: One Hundred Ways to See Humanity
“100 Portraits of Becoming” begins in Kenya because of the country’s growing role in innovation and its young population. Often described as the “Silicon Savannah,” Kenya has challenged assumptions about where progress begins through advancements in mobile financial inclusion and local innovation. Despite this progress, representation has often lagged behind reality as global media and AI-generated imagery continue to rely on inherited narratives instead of lived experiences.
The initiative begins from a different belief that people should not be defined by the stories told about them, but by the stories they choose to tell themselves. The inaugural portraits feature entrepreneurs, farmers, dancers, artists, and everyday creators whose experiences cannot be reduced to a single narrative. Instead, they reflect the many ways people are shaping the future.
“People are always quick to tell you what you are and where you fit,” said Alexander Odhiambo, a Kenyan participant in “100 Portraits of Becoming” and co-founder of Solutech Limited, an enterprise software company serving manufacturers and distributors across Africa. “I stopped waiting for that. The story that counts is the one I’m writing myself.”
Following its launch in Nairobi, the initiative will travel over the next two years to the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Brazil, building a living archive of people, identities, and defining life moments. The first portraits and stories will be published online in early August, marking the beginning of the campaign’s global rollout.
Through one technology, five countries, and one hundred portraits, “100 Portraits of Becoming” demonstrates TECNO’s vision for the future of imaging. Beyond capturing more, the initiative emphasizes understanding people more deeply by celebrating authentic representation and the stories that define humanity, one portrait at a time.
