The AI thread

[BrianShaw]

Also, even though I am the most cynical person on this planet, I doubt lying "today" is more prevalent than whenever Alan has in mind. The good old days are often the product of a failing memory. (NB this is not to be taken literally, in case anyone was about to lose their sh1t. It's about perception etc.)

I really doubt that you are the most cynical person on this planet… prove it!

[r_a_feldman]

[Alan Klein]

No

no rules

not art

Documentary and photojournalism is not art first and foremost. It may become art later. But initially it's reportage and should remain authentic.

[Alan Klein]

If you believe this, then you'll never see anything but lies and deceit wherever you look. I'd advise you not to be that guy, for your mental health.

Actually, I think most people myself included do believe most things they're told and see as being truthful, especially photographs. That's why AI and Photoshop can be so insidious as we may become indifferent to the truth. Then we look at a photo, shrug our shoulders, and really don't care what its saying.

[jnantz]

Actually, I think most people myself included do believe most things they're told and see as being truthful, especially photographs. That's why AI and Photoshop can be so insidious as we may become indifferent to the truth. Then we look at a photo, shrug our shoulders, and really don't care what its saying.

Alan

President Lincoln's famous portrait standing next to a chair & quill was faked / heads swapped. They slipped his head onto John Calhoun's body.
Does it matter that the portrait was a lie ?

I think the main problem with AI and Photoshop is that humans are lazy and in this modern era people don't bother to do their homework ..

[BrianShaw]

... humans are lazy and in this modern era people don't bother to do their homework ..

... and this is certainly not confined to AI, photoshop or imagery! Too many folks seem to fall for (intentionally) misleading headlines and never bother reading the article, or reading two articles ont he same topic to see if there is any corroborating information. Heck, some people don't even seem to consider the source and seem to assume that if it has been written, it is truth. Critical thinking and reasonable levels of cynicism are needed in all aspects of life.

[Michael R]

... and this is certainly not confined to AI, photoshop or imagery! Too many folks seem to fall for (intentionally) misleading headlines and never bother reading the article, or reading two articles ont he same topic to see if there is any corroborating information. Heck, some people don't even seem to consider the source and seem to assume that if it has been written, it is truth. Critical thinking and reasonable levels of cynicism are needed in all aspects of life.

I wonder though if we are actually more lazy and/or less critical in thinking, or if it's just that we are now bombarded with a higher volume of stuff (internet vs pre-internet).

[faberryman]

AI is just the latest in a long line of bogeymen. Some people are attracted to bogeymen like a moth to a flame. They just aren't happy unless the sky is falling.

[Alan Klein]

Alan

President Lincoln's famous portrait standing next to a chair & quill was faked / heads swapped. They slipped his head onto John Calhoun's body.
Does it matter that the portrait was a lie ?

I think the main problem with AI and Photoshop is that humans are lazy and in this modern era people don't bother to do their homework ..

Why go back to the exceptions all the time? You can always find them. The fact is 98% of photographers, at least in the past, did not clone their photographs. Photos were accepted in the main as being authentic. Editors mainly got chromes from their photojournalists. Most of the 98% of regular photographers never cloned their pictures. There they were, zits and all. Revealing how some famous photos had some fakery in them suoports that viewpoint because those things were hidden from the public adding to their believability. The Lincoln photo just supports that point.

[Alan Klein]

... and this is certainly not confined to AI, photoshop or imagery! Too many folks seem to fall for (intentionally) misleading headlines and never bother reading the article, or reading two articles ont he same topic to see if there is any corroborating information. Heck, some people don't even seem to consider the source and seem to assume that if it has been written, it is truth. Critical thinking and reasonable levels of cynicism are needed in all aspects of life.

Studies have shown that humans tend to take things at face value. We want to believe things told to us. Critical thinking is hard because it often forces people to go against group think. Free speech protections in law are there not to protect common thinking but the oddball. If thinking out of the box was common, we wouldn't need laws to protect it.