With Pauline ZECCHINON, UCLouvain researcher on editorial strategies for photo in five French-language daily newspaper newsrooms, Lars BOERING, director of the European Journalism Centre (EJC), Eric BARADAT, AFP deputy news director in charge of Photo and Justyna KOCISZEWSKA, head of the Miedzynarodowy Festival programming.
Moderated by Gabriela TORRES, exhibition & production manager at Le Hangar in Brussels.
Key issues
“Is this picture taken by a photographer or AI-generated?” Answers might be divided. This question will appear more and more through the years. AI is gradually slipping its way into every corner of our lives, also in photojournalism. The use of AI may lead to audiences doubting their credibility, possibly reinforcing distrust. At some point in time, we may have to outline cases in which a photograph comes from a photographer and is not produced by AI. An AI-generated picture increasingly looks like genuine photography, but it is not. There is a problem of understanding and distinction of what is what, journalists and editors conclude.
What they said:
Lars Boering: “AI is speeding up so fast […]. Everybody can be a photographer but not everybody is good at it.”
Justyna Kociszewska: “[AI] surfaced before we even had the time to think about it.”
Pauline Zecchinon: “There are a lot of challenges, more issues to deal with than opportunities for the journalistic world.”
Éric Baradat: “There isn’t one truth, but confidence in what we show.”
Takeaways
What can media do to distinguish between AI and a real photography ? First of all, they need to be transparent. There is a lack of trust by the viewers and transparency will definitely help to reassure them. Also, media can use fact checking, showing other angles from the pictures and telling the story behind it. All of this will allow for increased credibility and gain back trust. Furthermore, media can apply a chart about using AI. It is already used by AFP journalists. The panel of speakers was a bit divided on topics suchs as collective memory or using AI tools to help with pictures but consensus was found on its omnipresence. AI will definitely take a front-stage position over the next few years, the deal is how to use it intelligently, correctly and with transparence.
Delphine Grote (IHECS)