It looks like a photo, but it’s not real.

So, what do you call it? We want to know.

Artificial intelligence’s ability to produce images that don’t originate in the real world but are indistinguishable from photographs is upending traditional attitudes and perceptions. The broad availability of this technology is enabling explosive growth of these photorealistic - but not real - images: Adobe recently announced that its generative artificial intelligence product Firefly has been used to create over a billion images since its launch in March 2023, just over 6 months ago. And a study by Everypixel Journal estimates the total for the four main platforms (DALL-E, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and Firefly) to be over 15 billion images in the past year. 

This spectacular innovation is, however, a double-edged sword: It offers great economic benefits to many industries where visually communicating products or services is critically important. It’s also a novel and powerful medium for artistic expression which can enable a new generation of creators to add exciting pages to the annals of Art history. 

But there’s a major caveat: At a time when conflictual politics and the virtualization of information are shaking our foundational attitudes and fracturing a formerly (mostly) homogenous consensus on the very nature of reality, our belief in the trustworthiness (albeit qualified) of photographs as witnesses to the real world is a valuable tool to enable our culture and our societies to function. And that belief is in the process of being severely undermined by Generative AI.  

As Paul Melcher, Managing Director, Melcher System, puts it: “The problem isn't just the potential for fake images to be perceived as real; it's also the risk that genuine images might be discredited. While the first issue can result in deception, the second can breed distrust. Distrust is especially concerning because, in contrast to deception which affects a singular event and can be corrected, distrust erodes the core of a relationship and is often irreparable. Consequently, the credibility of all images, whether real or generated, becomes questionable.”

There is no question that AI creations are not photographs[1].

Yet because they convincingly appear to be photographs, and because no concise, expressive, and generally accepted term to designate them exists, they’re broadly being called “photographs”. The resulting confusion between real and unreal images is a serious problem, much of which will be addressed and resolved when such a term emerges. 

Therefore Visual 1st, the premier executive venue for information and debate about economic and socio-cultural issues driven by imaging technology, announced today that, with broad imaging industry support, it’s launching an open contest to pinpoint a term that will clearly and concisely refer to AI-generated photorealistic synthetic images. This term will enable those who create AI-based images to clearly identify their medium, and at the same time will remove confusion as to which images are derived from the real world and which are not.

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THE ELECTRICIAN

by Boris Eldagsen

Photomedia Artist

Prompt Whispering

Winner of the not-accepted 2023 Sony World Photography Awards, Creative Open Category

More about the refused award controversy: Photographer admits prize-winning image was AI-generated 

At Adobe, the Content Authenticity Initiative has focused since inception on giving people a means with which to distinguish trustworthy photographic media from generated or manipulated media. Core to this mission of shared, objective reality is having a common, accessible, and well-established set of terms we use to describe photorealistic images that are not photographic in origin. Armed with a term to describe these images, constructive discourse around trust, transparency, and preserving trustworthy storytelling can proceed with clarity. I applaud this initiative from Visual 1st and look forward to its outcome!

Andy Parsons, Senior Director, Content Authenticity Initiative at Adobe

For a company like Tamron that has photography in its DNA and serves the needs of advanced photographers worldwide, both the challenges and the opportunities that Generative AI brings to the field are important issues. Clearing up the confusion between photographs and photo-like images created by AI will benefit all those who express themselves in both media. We’re delighted to see Visual 1st launch an initiative to make that happen.

Stacie Errera, Vice President Marketing & Communications Tamron Americas

The Technical Image Press Association feels that it has never been more important than today to be able to rely on the origin and authenticity of digital content. A photograph is created exclusively by imaging light inside a camera. AI-generated images are therefore not photographs and should not be referred to as such, even if their photo-realistic presentation conveys this impression. Because the qualitative boundaries disappear, a clear differentiation between photographs on the one hand and generated images on the other is crucial for their classification and perception. That requires a clear and recognized term to designate photo-like generated images, and we support Visual 1st’s initiative to develop that consensus.

Thomas Gerwers, Chairman of The Technical Image Press Association

AI generated creations are not photographs. They need a new vocabulary to stand on their own as new forms of expression.

Javier Ideami, CEO Ideami, Co-Founder The Geniverse

Technology has been a driver of visual content since the invention of the camera, but never has the issue of trust and transparency been greater than today due to the rapid deployment and adoption of Generative Ai. The Visual 1st initiative to find a noun for computer-generated content that appears to be photographic is more than just a naming convention: Having such a term could be the first step in creating a culture of transparency. Truth, transparency, and our knowledge of what’s what will allow us to appreciate the value that each type of image creation brings.

Leslie Hughes, President Digital Media Licensing Association

Our communication has become mostly visual. We share images because they have the unique power to share realities and create common ground. At CatchLight we invest in this unique power of images to both inform and connect communities. Photographers do not just document and represent, they also act as trusted messengers to whom people open up, sharing some of their most vulnerable moments. To preserve this language, it is vital to ground this practice in truth and authenticity. Naming and providing context to AI-generated images will help provide clarity between documentation and illustration.

Elodie Mailliet Storm, CEO CatchLight

In the current fast-evolving imaging world, the impact of AI - especially generative AI - is undeniable. As a company working on a product that ensures photos are presented as they're meant to be, and also on another product that transforms photos into AI artworks, Viesus is well aware of the need to separate the two. To that end, establishing consensus on a term to designate photo-like images that are AI-generated is key: We need clear language that enables us to distinguish the real from the unreal. We’re also investigating the integration of a small AI mark QR code on AI-generated images. This QR code would link to a page explaining the image's generative process, adding layer of clarity and transparency for viewers.

Servi Pieters, CEO Viesus AG

Zenfolio Inc., and its sister brand Format, have been committed since their founding to supporting and advocating for photographers, artists, designers, and all professions that depend on the "creative act" and the superior visual presentation of their work. We applaud and support Visual 1st in advocating for an explicit and transparent identifier that will instantly denote an AI-generated photorealistic synthetic image versus all others. This is a key step in differentiating creative processes and supporting and protecting photographers' property and livelihood. Importantly it also advances the cause of trust and credibility in the face of generative AI.

John Loughlin, CEO Zenfolio, Inc.

More information about the timing, mechanics and winner selection process of the contest will be announced at the 11th annual edition of the Visual 1st conference, October 24 and 25 in San Francisco, where numerous sessions will explore the economic opportunities and challenges stemming from the AI revolution in the imaging industry, including:

• Fighting the Flipsides of AI – with AI
• Profiting from Major Technology Transformations – how about AI?
• AI Image Creation – exploring where boundless creativity could take us
• AI Image Curation 2.0 – when AI-based auto-tagging is so yesterday

[1] A photograph is an image created when a light-sensitive surface is exposed to light reflected from real-world objects.

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