Ofcourse, those investments are necessary because, so far, AI is a huge money drain that’s not yet profitable at all. However, this also shows how big the belief and interest in this technology are.
Benefits of AI
AI can be very beneficial. I don’t think anyone doubts that. It will (and does already) help us bypass and speed up various tasks. We can brainstorm new ideas, improve our work, and access a new range of tools.
As a photographer, I am pleased with Lightroom’s Noise Reduction AI, for example. The AI masking has also helped me increase my productivity.
Despite AI’s advantages, I also see some considerable issues. We don’t seem to address these enough. These issues also make me watch “Made with AI” as a disclaimer rather than a badge of honor.
(For example, Google Docs uses Gemini AI to improve my writing for this article.)
My concerns on AI at the moment are these:
- The massive use of power in a world that’s already facing an energy crisis
- The issue of using copyrighted material to train the models (like Ghibli)
- Who owns the work made by AI?
- Fake news and alternate realities
- The big one for me: altering our memories beyond credibility
First, I want to disclose that I’m not an AI expert. Perhaps some of these issues have already been addressed and solved, and companies may be actively solving them now. But as a photographer, these are the issues I see in the technology: ethically and practically.
Let’s dive into these concerns one by one, shall we?
Fueling AI
The enormous power needed for AI
The need for energy keeps growing. In the US, Trump has just signed several decrees to make pumping oil easier again for companies. Though I disagree with using fossil fuels today, the current energy crisis makes that decision somewhat logical.
So, how is this going to affect the prices for citizens? Where will all the energy come from? When companies like Microsoft feel the need to buy up nuclear reactors to provide their AI with energy.
Owning AI
Furthermore, the copyright issue
I believe there’s too little transparency on what the AI models have used as source material. I’m also sure no artist has been compensated for using their work to train these AIs. In my eyes, this makes anyone using “make it in the style of Ghibli” prompts accomplices to IP theft.
And, ofcourse, who owns the images and content created by AI? A court in the US stated that work not made by humans isn’t eligible for copyright.
(Fact)checking AI
We’ve already seen plenty of these: AI videos or photos that try to tell you this or that has happened. Of course, plenty are made as a joke and in good faith. However, that doesn’t stop others from abusing those videos.
When making a fake video or photo has become much easier and faster than referencing the truth of that piece of content, we are heading for some trouble. Also, who is responsible for this content?
But the real issue with AI for me
The issues mentioned above have been discussed widely. Though I find too little happening in company policies and legislation, I hope the concerns around these will somewhat protect society.
My issue is AI becoming a standard in consumer devices. Of course, we could talk about skills being lost to these AIs. I recently saw the movie Idiocracy. I found it to be a funny warning movie.
But my main issue isn’t AI helping us, but the fact that it limits our freedom to make decisions. Let me explain.
On my Samsung S24+, I can make RAW photos. This means the images aren’t edited like JPEGs usually are.
For years, smartphones have enhanced their JPEGs. Hell, even cameras did so. Digital cameras add a specific edit to all your JPG photos when you make them.
At first, these edits were the same for all photos. Over the last decade, smartphones have been trained to apply different presets to different images.
Now AI can take it even further.
So, on my Samsung ( not a sponsor, but call me), when I make RAW photos, I fully intend to have the freedom to edit them however I want. Yet, my S24+ immediately tells me it’s optimizing my pictures for me.
Urgh, no need for that!
What about the memories?
Of course, this is an add-on. My RAW file is still unedited for me to play with. But in this case, I have a RAW file. If I don’t, I have the JPG with the AI edits.
Which may be okay for some throwaway pictures here and there. But what is the AI actually improving?
Is it just the colors and contrast? Is it cleaning up the image? Does it make your skin look better? Is it adding monsters to the scene? …
Of course, I’m taking it a bit far. No AI will automatically add Godzilla to your seaside sunset. Well, I hope.
But regardless of that, we usually make those images as memories, to look back on in a few years. “Did I really look so tan? I thought I had a sunburn.”
Today, we are already rewriting tomorrow’s history.
We will no longer have a way to validate our memories. Of course, photos weren’t always the most perfect or complete reference, but they were good enough.
Remembering the good
One of the subjects we photograph the most (with our smartphone) is our children. I don’t have any kids myself, but I receive daily updates on my nieces, nephews, and friends’ kids.
Some photos aren’t nice to look at. Because kids are dirty. They poop full diapers (and parents are proud of it for some reason) and they have boogers. And how disgusting it is (at least to me), it’s part of their life for now.
So it’s essential to keep those elements in your photos, too.
Having the ice-cream sprinkles all over their face is a funny memory to keep, so why let an AI virtually clean them up?
Remembering the bad
Of course, we also have bad memories. That ex in your sister’s wedding photo, for example. As irritating as it can seem, keeping them in the photo as a reference is essential. When were you together again? And who was at the wedding?
You can let AI edit them out perfectly; they are gone without a trace. Your ex never existed, which is sad, because they were a big part of your life at some point.
It’s old-fashioned, but cut them out of the photo with scissors. It seems like the same result, but you’ll have a physical mark in the image, showing that they were there at least. Plus, I’m sure the physical activity will help you get over them somehow.
You are fake news
So, with the world already inundated with fake news, why let that happen in your personal life, too?
Keep those photos as they are. There is no need to optimize the aesthetics. And if they are so vital to you, keep complete control of them. Be the artist yourself.
So, in conclusion: don’t shy away from AI. It can be a good tool. But be aware of its Trojan horse. It can provide you with lots of freedom, but it can also take that freedom away, even if unintentional.