For most of photography’s history, a photograph was its own proof: if you had a picture of something, it had probably happened. AI has ended that, producing images the eye cannot tell from real photographs, which is an acute problem for anyone whose work depends on a photograph being believed.Continue Reading
Ask anyone how they know an image was generated, and they will describe a search for flaws: a sixth finger, a window that reflects nothing, a bracelet that melts into a wrist, skin with no pores, light that seems to fall from two directions at once. The search assumes thereContinue Reading
What happens when the decision-maker never actually sees your ad? “Looking great” is no longer a single thing. It used to be. A brand published a visual, a campaign image, a product shot, a banner ad, and the question was simple: Does this stop someone? Does it hold attention? DoesContinue Reading
Images cost nothing to produce now and arrive in unlimited numbers. The usual conclusion is that they have become disposable, and that being disposable, they can no longer be trusted. The facts in that description are right. The conclusion moves too fast, because trusting a photograph has always meant twoContinue Reading
For two hundred years, ever since Niépce left a pewter plate in a window for the better part of a day, a photograph was something you could interrogate yourself. You looked at it, and you decided. The light behaved, or it betrayed a seam. The shadows agreed with the room,Continue Reading
The year is 2046. There are now three kinds of photographs: those taken by light-based cameras, those generated or heavily modified by AI, and those carrying no provenance information at all, about which we can say nothing for sure. We have grown comfortable with the boundaries set by rules, regulations,Continue Reading
A recent study from Popsa highlights some very interesting facts about our relationship with photographs today. After surveying 8,000 non-professional consumers across different age groups and countries, the study reveals that 70% of the photos we take are never revisited. Of the roughly two trillion photographs taken each year globally,Continue Reading
When a news image is modified via AI, everyone jumps in outrage, and it becomes an affair. If a picture of a (smiling) woman eating a fresh salad in her kitchen is AI-generated, no one really cares. In both cases, AI was used. Why is it that, in one case,Continue Reading
War compresses everything, including the truth. The moment the first missile lands, demand for images spikes, while the supply stays thin. Photographers can only be in so many places, and the most newsworthy places are the hardest and most dangerous to reach. Editors need pictures in minutes, not hours. InContinue Reading
Since every company in the world communicates with visuals, this act affects everyone Two months out from application, Article 50 of the EU AI Act is generating more anxiety than clarity in the teams that produce and publish visual content. The date to remember is August 2, 2026. Systems placedContinue Reading