Making the invisible visible: Exhibit AI and seeking accountability for hidden human rights abuses in Australia’s offshore processing centres

Various legal challenges have sought accountability for the human rights abuses experienced in Australia’s offshore immigration detention centres. One such challenge was the DBE17 class action. During this litigation, over 60 witness statements were taken from individuals about their experiences on Nauru and Manus Island. When a High Court decision in a related matter required the discontinuance of DBE17, it appeared that this important evidence may have been lost—and with it the chance to hold the Australian Government, and others, accountable for these human rights abuses. Exhibit AI is an effort to take these witness statements out of the legal framework and make them accessible to the wider public by using AI technology to generate photorealistic images of the statements. This article discusses how Exhibit AI aims to seek accountability for human rights abuses using AI technology and the role that those with lived experience played in bringing the project to life.