Improving on reality

 Watching the Superbowl recently, there was a Budweiser commercial about the bond of friendship between a young Clydesdale horse and an eaglet. They grow up together, the eagle riding on the horse's back as it learns to fly. It ended with the eagle taking off from the horse's back in such a way that it looked like the horse had wings. It was a stunning image!  There was a lot of chatter on social media which assumed that the video was made using Artificial Intelligence. The real story, when it came out, was much more amazing. The eagle is named Lincoln and he performs at Philadelphia Eagles games. When asked to ride on a horse's back and then take flight, Lincoln's reaction was "piece of cake!" It was all done without artificial enhancement, in one take!

AI is in every conversation right now. Some people love it and others hate it. Most attitudes are mixed. I think it can be a useful tool to use as a starting point but it is not a replacement for real skill. At least not yet. As I understand it, AI works by taking samples of a vast amount of images, written articles and videos taken from the internet.  When you ask it to do something, it looks for examples that match the query. If you think about the content on the Internet, you might see a problem-much of what is out there is inaccurate, conspiracy theories and just plain rubbish. Keep this in mind when looking for information through AI and always check your sources.

There are a lot of occasions when Artificial Intelligence is very helpful.  When I was setting up my new computer, AI helped me find information on how to link my Lightroom catalogs and how to remove some unwanted apps. In Photoshop, AI is getting very good at removing distractions, such as parked cars or telephone wires. While I don't, I know a lot of writers use AI to organize their ideas. I have heard business people rave about how AI helps them write better emails. 

For every positive, there are negatives. AI emails tend to sound the same; the authentic voice of the author is missing. In photography, AI adjustments to portraits tend to make them look like a totally different person. AI has a creepy habit of trying to improve on nature: removing "imperfections" such as scars and uneven teeth. The result can be generic, plastic people. In my portrait business, my policy is to remove temporary blemishes but not permanent features. I want to give my clients pictures that reflect who they really are...just on a good day! 

In the past, before the days of photography, the images we have of our ancestors come from paintings. Depending on the skill of the artist, these may or may not look like the real person. A skilled artist could make the sitter look much more attractive. I see AI portraits as a return to those days, where an esthetically enhanced portrait is what many people choose to show the world, especially on social media. Photography democratized portraits, leaving an accurate portrait for the first time. With the move to digital photography, film images became a rarity. What happens when something becomes hard to find? It acquires snob value! Film photography is still around and making a come back. It's much harder to steal analog images than digital content.

According to an AI query, 71% of images on social media are now generated by artificial intelligence. Does that make you rethink the amount of time you spend scrolling Facebook? And those holiday snapshots and pictures of little Susie you shared are now part of the database being used to train AI. Copyright is a grey area when it comes to the internet. If you shared your pictures the implication is, they are fair game. Facebook's terms of service (which are really hard to find these days) say that they own anything you post. Even if you remove your content, if someone else has shared it, it will exist forever in the Metaverse.

So where does that leave me as a digital photographer? I think we photographers still have a place. Many of the people who fall for the Facebook offers of a "professional headshot from a cell phone picture" were not my customers anyway. They are looking for the cheapest option and are not critical enough to worry about accuracy. AI also cannot photograph events. (Can you imagine the work involved in trying to generate pictures of your wedding??) When it comes to restoration, the other side of my business, running your precious, damaged, family photo through an AI program is like using a sledge hammer to crack a nut. The faces are changed, colors are overbright and random details may be added. Truth is all important when it comes to genealogy, so restoration takes a light hand to mend the damage while keeping the picture authentic.

There is so much more I could say about AI, but perhaps that's a blog for another day. Legislation will never catch up so I will leave you with a quote from your favorite superhero: "With great power, comes great responsibility." AI is a powerful tool, use it wisely!