E.L., I really love your reply to the question. I am new to this forum and based on the previous discussion (before yours) I was ready to bow out and quit the forum. I get a lot of the BS, like the previous comments and it really disgusts me. I love open discussion on any topic and I do know that AI can be boring to some but I see it as the real future of everything. I believe it's success or failure will ultimately be determined by the client(s) responses to the product and the results it generates. As a commercial/professional photographer success or failure will depend on the client's response. AI can be recognized by the keen eye which will reflect the photographer's reputation. The average person viewing a photo will never see the edits (unless it is so bad) and it will produce the ohoooos and has that usually come from the viewer. Anyway, E.L. I really do appreciate your honesty and accuracy in your response rather than the rubbish from the other contributors. Thanks again and I might stay here for a while because there are some people still here that appreciate real discussion. I just wish that those who don't like a topic or are tired of a topic would just leave the conversation rather than destroy it.

If you need to create or abide by "rules" as to the ethics in photography- try these on for size and see if they fit:

Serios image alteration has no place in pure photojournalism or documentary photography. Aim series retouching or editing that distorts the truth is not acceptable.

In fine artwork, you are the boss. You can opt for reality or fantasy. Nobody should tell you what to do.

Commercial work. I do not advocate false advertising or exaggerating the appearance of any product or service to the extent of creating a fallacy or affectation completely beyond reality. Commercial clients usually want their products and services displayed (visually) at their very best. IA may help add background, environment, and some enhancement in a reasonable and honest manner. There are consumer protection laws in place to prevent misrepresentation in food packaging. Eg. In a frozen food product, you can shot it cooked in the best possible way but you can not substitute fresh product- you have to shoot the product as it is packed and frozen. Commercial clients usually want idealized images of the products or services. We style and style interiors, carefully prepare food photography, pay attest to detail in fashion work, and show even the most mundane products with optimized lighting and camera angles. There are AI additions that can represent a product without falsification.

Portraiture: Most cliets want flatterig images. Retouching is one of the traditional treatments of accomplishing. this. There has been digital software that has replaced manual retouching for quite some time. Now they are marketed as AI. Personally, I consult with each subject and ascertain if the prefer a realistic study or a more enhanced rendition of their appearance. I light, shoot, and retouch accordingly.

To the viewers, clients, or patrons of your art, a photograph is not a camera club competition or technical workshop. The are buying, utilizing or enjoying your images regardless of how the are produced.

AI will not be the end of traditional photography, literature, or any other real discipline. The quacks, phonies, and bad guys will use it for nefarious or dishonest purposes. The "yellow journalists" will become more "yellow"! Honest folks will utilize it like any other tool or technology. For the folks around here who love to argue- constant crabbing about AI certainly outfilters, Canon vs Nikon (etc.), and whether post-processing is legitimate altogether!

The other day a client asked me of one day "will I (me) be replaced by a robot. I told him it would never happen because they would NOT find a robot that was big and ugly enough to replicate me- and it will change you MORE money!

If you like my philosophy, you are welcome to utilize it or any part of it. If you disagree, that's good too! We ca still be friends!