I like taking pictures and that is why sometimes when I go for a walk, I use this opportunity to exploit my artistic side and take photos. I always send them to my friends in Poland as they are always curious about what I do. Once, I went for a walk to Kralingse Bos. As always, I took thousands of photos of my friends, the park, and the pond. Then I sent it to my friends on the group chat. One of them mentioned that I have a talent and should pursue a photographic career. Nevertheless, a different friend said that a job as a photographer will be gone soon because many AI tools, such as Bing Image Creator, may create nice photos in seconds. Bing Image Creator is an AI developed by Microsoft that enables users to create an image based on the written description provided (Mehdi, 2023). As this was the first time, I had heard about this tool, I decided to try it out. I thought that in order to be able to answer my friend’s message about the photographer’s job being gone in a few years, I decided to ask Bing to create a similar photo I had taken that day. Thus, I asked Bing to create a photo of “a park with a pond in a sunlight” (see attachment for the results). When I saw the result, I was very surprised. I have never tried AI image creators, so I did not have much experience with such softwares, however, I definitely did not expect the AI to generate such a beautiful photo. It was breathtaking, better than mine, and without knowing that the photo was created by AI, I would definitely think that it was taken by a person. I immediately sent the generated photo on the group chat and partially agreed with my friend, who mentioned that the profession of photographer will soon disappear and be replaced with artificial intelligence such as Bing. I am not sure if this profession will be gone completely, however, it will definitely reduce the need to hire a photographer every time you need to have a nice photo. With AI, everyone can create a digital image (Q.ai – Powering A Personal Wealth Movement, 2022). Nevertheless, because of copyright concerns and how they affect artists, there is a great deal of uncertainty around AI-generated images (Q.ai – Powering A Personal Wealth Movement, 2022). Thus, even if the photographer profession disappears, it will take years for people to fully understand how they can leverage AI for image creation. Besides, because of the fact that it is sometimes hard to distinguish if the work is created by AI, many challenges arise as well. An example might include misinformation, fake news, and unreliability (Li, 2020). Thus, should we be worried about how AI image creators will affect our lives? Could artificial intelligence capture and produce the kinds of visuals that are currently produced by skilled photographers? Please let me know in the comments what you think!
Bibliography:
Li, T. (2020). Challenges and opportunities of AI [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYqzaeeRL-8
Mehdi, Y. (2023). Create images with your words – Bing Image Creator comes to the new Bing – The Official Microsoft Blog. The Official Microsoft Blog. https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/03/21/create-images-with-your-words-bing-image-creator-comes-to-the-new-bing/
Q.ai – Powering A Personal Wealth Movement. (2022). Dall·E Mini And The Future Of Artificial Intelligence Art. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/qai/2022/10/21/dalle-mini-and-the-future-of-artificial-intelligence-art/?sh=435c1e1a7d78
Hi Gabriela, thank you for sharing your experience with AI image creation in your blog post! I found your exploration of Bing Image Creator and its ability to generate a stunning photograph truly interesting.
The debate surrounding the impact of AI on creative professions, such as photography, is both thought-provoking and timely. Your friend’s observation that AI tools may replace certain aspects of photography in the future is a valid concern. As AI technologies continue to advance, they can certainly assist in creating visually appealing images, potentially reducing the need for human photographers in certain contexts.
However, while AI can be a powerful tool for image creation and enhancement, I believe that the human touch, creativity, and artistic sensibility will always play a unique role in the world of photography. AI can assist, but it cannot replicate the passion and storytelling ability that human photographers bring to their work. For this reason I think that the key may lie in a symbiotic relationship between AI and human creativity.