AI, My Opinion | KERRYRAYTRACYPHOTO

A few who I consider fans of my work, who follow and often give me feedback or maybe a pat on the back, have asked me to give my opinion on AI, Artificial Intelligence. In fact, in the last year I was asked often. I've really kept my silence other than with an article I wrote for the photo publication, PHOTOSESSIONMAG Issue 11.

To put it in a nutshell, and be openly frank, I don't like it, nor do I respect it in anyway. It's not photography and for those who choose to embrace it, you're not a photographer, You're a "Prompt Artist". That's it and nothing more. You've allowed a computer to create what you want via, its imagination not yours. Yes! Maybe you dreamed up the idea, but the computer did the work and put it all together. For those who use AI as an assist to their editing in Photoshop or Capture One, the same applies. While you might be doing the major amount of the edit, you still elicited the AI format. It's not yours, it's yours and the AI generator.

There is no excuse, no sound argument. Additionally, the images collected from your piece if from a photo bank, which is a stock created of other artist work. Midjourney has went to court over this issue more than a few times already. You are in effect using work of other artist and photographers for which they have copyright over. And, no! This has not been taken care of, Midjourney and other AI platforms are still doing it. This is theft.

It's not photography. The most I can relate it to is graphic art. Refined Anime. While you might use it in an image you shot, the outcome is more art than an image. Yes, it has elements of 3D to it. But again, is it photography? No! It's a characterized version of a photo. Is it composite art? No! (A Composite is a photographic artist pulling together a variety of images, hopefully that they have bought or shot themselves, and creating a collective image as a result. It's important to note...the artist does this, not AI!) I see AI, as nothing more than a comic book illustration.

Now, I will admit.....I love every image produced by AI. I have a Midjourney account, and I have tried it. Made for interesting creations, but it did not pull me in. In fact, I did not have a great feeling after trying my hand at it. It was in no way my work, it was in no way my style, nor how my mind saw it. As for using it with Photoshop. I did not spend endless hours learning a variety of editing programs to yield it all over to AI or even AI's help. Sadly, artist who I have followed and admired over the years are falling prey to it. I've stopped following all of them. I didn't follow you because of the AI you produce, I followed you because you used tools I did, and we were in some way lined in our pursuit. In my book, they sold out.

So, to answer the question...NO! I will never indulge in AI, neither fully nor as an additive to my editing tools. What I would be good with, and would be interested in seeing Adobe do, is offer a photographer the editing filters that an AI Generator uses. Zero prompts. Put the filters and the process into our hands. That interest me much more than allowing AI to produce my work via a, prompt. The AI Generator uses a system of filters and morphing that creates the images it does. Place it in a real artist hands. Unfortunately, I doubt it will happen.