jlg1000 Loc: Uruguay / South America

In know, this will create a lot of flak, but - after thinking it for a while - I believe this post belongs to the main discussion, because:

1) Shows a very general topic about imaginary
2) Shows what the trend is
3) Might be a glimpse to the future of photography.

There are people who think that Generative AI is improving slowly enough to believe that it has a very long way to go before it's ready for prime time.

I strongly believe otherwise. The evolution of Generative AI is so freaking fast that every new week brings substantial improvements.

This has profound implication for photography... other crafts deliver tangible goods: a sculptor delivers a statue, a painter delivers... well, a painting, and - in the past - a photographer delivered a photo. A real, material object that occupied a volume in space.

But, as we embraced digital photography, it happens that a modern photographer delivers *data*.

And data can be created many ways... and it turns out that computers excel at creating data.

I'm attaching some of my latest creations, which - I believe - are good enough for a casual viewer. I think that if I would print this images and hang them on an exhibition, most people would believe them to be real.

I've only fixed the leather jacket and the pose... I could be easily selling this images (note I'm not writing "photographs") for a fashion campaign to sell those jackets. The last one is a bonus... to show how very few tweaks (maybe 10 minutes of work) can create a completely different style.

If you look closely, you'll find defects (I did), but I'm pretty confident that in a couple of *weeks* I'll be capable of delivering even better images.

Now let's talk about the cost... the software is free. Once I set up the software (maybe a couple of hours), I can run it overnight and create hundreds of images, all different and non repetible... but all of them consistently of the same style.

Let's the flack begin

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

It's still not photography, which is defined as images derived from the action of light on a light sensitive material. I believe that needs to be preserved. We now have a section for AI - AI Artistry and Creation - why wouldn't you post it there?

jlg1000 Loc: Uruguay / South America

I do post that imaginary in that forum.

I DID want to stir a discussion, this is the reason why.

I'm aware that it is *not* photography... my point is that if AI imaginery get good enough, all pro photographers are finished.

THAT is the point of my post, NON publishing some renderings... I participate in a very active AI forum outside UHH fort that. Th topics there is python programming, model training, GPU optimization... and positing renderings.

TheShoe Loc: Lacey, WA

I agree.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

Photojournalism and documentary photography won't be finished - they need to be real. Also, there will always be a demand for photos of real people.

jlg1000 Loc: Uruguay / South America

1) People witness some event and take snapshots
2) They upload that photos to Instagram, Facebook, etc.
3) News portal has contract with Instagram, Facebook, etc. and retrieves all snapshots
4) The AI specialist feeds the snapshots into the AI and renders perfect "photos" of the event
5) The New portal posts the photos on the site.

No photographer, no editor, no nothing.
Cost: next to nothing.
Time to market: minutes.

I'm not making this up... I've attended a keynote where a multi-billion corporation CEO showed exactly that... and the big media fish present where happily applauding.

Shellback Loc: North of Cheyenne Bottoms Wetlands - Kansas

What is the free software? Is it available on multi platforms (Win / Mac / Linux )?
Thanks,

Rongnongno Loc: FL

The issue to me is not if AI progresses or not, but the facility to 'create news' images that are simply lies or propaganda. There is a need for strong legislation that punishes misuse of AI at all levels be it written, imagery, sound, whatever.

AI creations must be labeled as such at all times.

At this point, when it comes to people (ever noted that most creation are of the female nature?) AI is far from being 'natural' many details, for those who look for them, allow to see if the creation is made with AI or not.

Europe has already created guidelines and are preparing laws over this. The US? Good luck finding a consensus on what to do.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Yup, to both questions.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

As far as I am concerned AI is just anotere technology or tool that can be used in certain areas of photography, graphic arts, and many othere imaging and creative environments and industries. It may have more impact on the commercial photogahy business than on the fine art aspect of the craft.

Whatever this topic is brought up on this and some othere photo-fourms the threads end up on negativism, argumentative and combative posts, and connotations of dishonesty and fakery. Ai is only dishonest if it is misrepresented as PURE photography. Obviously, it has no place in photojournalism. Unfortunately, there are folks who have been infringing on copyrights, plagiarising all kinds of art and intellectual property, and publishing or disseminating fake news so AI gives them more tools as well. This gives photograher, artists and all creative people more work to do. AI should incentivize commercial photograhers to up their game, creatively and technically, so they cannot easily be replaced by robots and machines.

There are still folks who feel that digital imaging is not "real photography" and insist that pure photogahy is done with film!

Perhaps someone who is interested in AI should start a new section here called"AI and Alternative Imaging Methods.

User ID

Could you please specify what you started with before switching to AI ? Since AI can generate images from merely words but can also do editing of an initial photo, what is the origin of what you show us ?

I have the impression that the jacket and possibly the woman were actual subjects that you photographed. The background ??? The rest of her clothing ???

You say these are NOT photographs. But if the jacket and the woman were seen by you and your lens, then these are editted photographs, not AI creations. What are you showing us ?

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

There is a new section - AI Artistry and Creation

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

Three that I know of and probably many more I don't. Adobe Firefly, MidJourney, although it works much better with a subscription and Stable Diffusion.

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

No reason to post there. Nobody, not even the Moderator, looks there. I posted one shot there that sat for a week with zero hits.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

I read somewhere that these AI apps are unlikely to be free for very long. It takes a huge amount of computing power to operate them, and for the same reasons, the apps aren't very "green".