I Used AI to Animate Old Family Photos. One Was Creepy, but the Other Was Heartwarming
A journalist tested AliveMoment, an AI tool that animates static photos into short videos, to see if it could effectively preserve family memories. The results were mixed, with the animation of a baby photo appearing uncanny and inaccurate, while a clip of the author hugging her grandmother was described as heartwarming and emotionally resonant. The review highlights the potential of such technology for memorializing loved ones but warns users about the service's aggressive credit-based subscription pricing model.
- ▪AliveMoment is an image-to-video AI tool released in August 2025 that offers photo restoration and animation features without requiring user prompts.
- ▪The author found that the AI produced a creepy and inaccurate animation of a baby photo, whereas the animation of an adult photo was emotionally accurate and well-received.
- ▪The service operates on a credit-based subscription system where the cheapest plan costs $2.47 per credit but requires an upfront payment that can amount to $60 per month if not canceled.
- ▪Users must purchase a subscription before they can view the generated animations, and additional credits are required for features like colorizing black-and-white photos.
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| Canonical URL | https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/ai-animate-old-family-photos/ |
| Publication time | 2026-09-17T22:07:52Z |
| Retrieval time | 2026-09-17T22:13:44.402Z |
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Tech > Services & Software > AI I Used AI to Animate Old Family Photos. One Was Creepy, but the Other Was Heartwarming Can memories be memorialized forever with AI? Or is there something uncanny about feeding childhood pictures to the machine? Amanda Smith Contributor Amanda Smith is a freelance journalist and writer.… Read full bio Amanda Smith Contributor Read full bio September 17, 2026, 6:07 pm ET 3 min read Amanda Smith/Cole Kan/CNET I miss the time when things were more tangible. Photo albums, CDs, cameras and books. Nowadays, everything is centralized on one device or stored in the cloud, sometimes accidentally erased, not always owned by you and forever out of sight.
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