The Problem of Child Violence and Disappearances in Mexico
In a country where thousands of children, young people, and teenagers are harmed annually by violence, impunity, or indifference, memory becomes a trench. The Mexican scientific community recognizes this urgent need for preservation and remembrance.
The UNAM’s Innovative Software
Researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) have developed a software capable of performing facial progressions and regressions from a single photograph. This powerful technology allows users to imagine how someone who has been missing for years might look today or how a young victim appeared as an infant.
While this advancement would typically be celebrated as a tool to combat the natural aging process or for aesthetic reconstructions, in Mexico, the algorithm named REGRESA holds a deeper and more heart-wrenching significance. It aims to restore the identity of those who are no longer present by bridging the gap between the present and a past marred by violence.
The Crisis of Child Victims and Institutional Failures
According to the Mexican Child Rights Network (REDIM), the situation is dire. In 2024, over two thousand children, young people, and adolescents were killed in Mexico. Moreover, more than nine thousand reports of missing minors were recorded, with two thousand seven hundred and fifty-one still unaccounted for.
This tragedy is exacerbated by institutional failures, as insufficiently resourced and untrained forensic services struggle to identify bodies. In many cases, the remains of children, young people, and adolescents end up in communal graves, overcrowded refrigerated containers, or simply disappear amidst bureaucratic chaos.
Families face the agonizing uncertainty of not knowing their children’s whereabouts and the hell of finding them without any authority confirming that the unnamed body belongs to them.
UNAM’s Technology as a Beacon of Hope
The UNAM’s novel technology, trained with thousands of real images using artificial intelligence models, predicts how a face ages or appears when someone is younger. This innovation transcends mere technological contribution; it embodies human-centered science that, through generated images, allows mothers, fathers, siblings, and grandparents to envision—albeit in pixels—the life of the child taken from them.
If implemented across all states’ Fiscalías de Justicia (Fiscalias of Justice), the UNAM software could be a critical instrument in locating missing minors. Each reconstructed face would also serve as a denunciation, challenging the system and providing evidence of negligence by fiscal authorities, search commissions ignoring pleas for help from families, and a society with short-term memory, unable to empathize with others’ pain.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is the issue addressed by the UNAM software? The software aims to combat forgetting and help families of missing or murdered children by reconstructing their faces, providing closure and a sense of continuity.
- Why is this technology significant in Mexico? Given the high rates of child violence and disappearances, this technology offers hope by potentially identifying missing children and serving as a tool against institutional failures.
- How does the software work? It uses artificial intelligence models trained on thousands of real images to predict facial aging or youthful appearances, enabling users to visualize missing loved ones.
- What challenges does the software face? The software must overcome bureaucratic hurdles to enter operation and gain widespread acceptance among Fiscalías de Justicia across Mexico.
