3 ms·

AI photo editors are ushering in a distrust of everything we see

14 points by elorant 3y ago

gchokov 3y ago
Guess what? They were never real. From day one. I am sure Wired can do better than posting clickbaits.
- vehemenz 3y ago
  "The New Pixel Phone Allows Laymen to Easily Alter Photos With Generative 'AI' Functions" didn't have quite the same ring to it.
- sublinear 3y ago
  Literally the definition of an image: "An optically formed duplicate, counterpart, or other representative reproduction of an object, especially an optical reproduction formed by a lens or mirror."
- baal80spam 3y ago
  This depends on the definition of what is "real". I consider photos before the era of AI quite real.
  - carapace 3y ago
    > A notable incident of controversial photo manipulation occurred over a photograph that was altered to fit the vertical orientation of a 1982 National Geographic magazine cover. The altered image made two Egyptian pyramids appear closer together than they actually were in the original photograph.[30] The incident triggered a debate about the appropriateness of falsifying an image,[31] and raised questions regarding the magazine's credibility. Shortly after the incident, Tom Kennedy, director of photography for National Geographic stated, "We no longer use that technology to manipulate elements in a photo simply to achieve a more compelling graphic effect. We regarded that afterward as a mistake, and we wouldn't repeat that mistake today."[31] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photograph_manipulation#Use_in_journalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photograph_manipulation#Use_in... the camera lies
rhelz 3y ago
Thank God. Almost nothing we see is trustable in the first place.
checkyoursudo 3y ago
The good news is that none of our memories, mental representations, or even current perceptions are "real" either.
- init2null 3y ago
  The even more terrifying part is that they are recreated when we remember. Ask me why I don't value eyewitness testimony.
  - kennethrc 3y ago
    TIL memories are .mp3s and not .bz2s
- I_Am_Nous 3y ago
  >or even current perceptions This is always fun to think about, that there's lag to everything from the time light bounces off an object and travels to my retina to the processing my brain does to understand what it's being shown. So by the time I have processed a visual "reality" it doesn't exist in that state any longer. Add in relativity and I could be experiencing a different time than someone else, AND a different space. If we are fundamentally fluctuations in various quantum fields coalesced into energetic matter that can interact with each other, the lag time between that field fluctuating and those fluctuations interacting with other fluctuations makes me marvel that we can even interact with each other lol
  - TeMPOraL 3y ago
    > This is always fun to think about, that there's lag to everything from the time light bounces off an object and travels to my retina to the processing my brain does to understand what it's being shown. It's even funnier (or more disturbing) to think about all the ungodly pile of hacks this processing entails - like using the high-level understanding of how the scene is lit to override color perception (see: tower / checkerboard color illusion), interpolating or otherwise guessing most of what we "see" (see: saccade, blind spot), and lying about passage of time to "cover the tracks" of all the hackery that's going on.
I_Am_Nous 3y ago
Good? Humanity is on a path to further reality breaks unless something changes, and stuff like people believing "Instagram Face" is normal because of automatic digital makeup is just one example of how attitudes can change and affect everything. I remember being taught "don't believe everything you read" but that doesn't seem to be how people approach the internet anymore. The world got way crazier once the internet could affect day to day reality.
moribvndvs 3y ago
> The advantage of what AI instills, Ashe adds, is a “healthy skepticism to our idea of the photograph as a document of objective truth.” Healthy skepticism was learning that we could doctor photos all along, and how it was merely easier with photoshop. Now we create even more in an unbelievable, unstoppable tidal wave of bullshit, and almost everyone has stopped giving a fuck. We’re beyond healthy.
- slim 3y ago
  I think "post truth" is the most apocalyptic concept invented
jemmyw 3y ago
> None of Your Photos Are Real They are real. They are real photos / images. They just aren't 100% accurate representations of the original scene. But then, no image would be. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Treachery_of_Images https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Treachery_of_Images

14 points by elorant 3y ago

gchokov 3y ago

Guess what? They were never real. From day one. I am sure Wired can do better than posting clickbaits.

vehemenz 3y ago
"The New Pixel Phone Allows Laymen to Easily Alter Photos With Generative 'AI' Functions" didn't have quite the same ring to it.
sublinear 3y ago
Literally the definition of an image: "An optically formed duplicate, counterpart, or other representative reproduction of an object, especially an optical reproduction formed by a lens or mirror."
baal80spam 3y ago
This depends on the definition of what is "real". I consider photos before the era of AI quite real.
- carapace 3y ago
  > A notable incident of controversial photo manipulation occurred over a photograph that was altered to fit the vertical orientation of a 1982 National Geographic magazine cover. The altered image made two Egyptian pyramids appear closer together than they actually were in the original photograph.[30] The incident triggered a debate about the appropriateness of falsifying an image,[31] and raised questions regarding the magazine's credibility. Shortly after the incident, Tom Kennedy, director of photography for National Geographic stated, "We no longer use that technology to manipulate elements in a photo simply to achieve a more compelling graphic effect. We regarded that afterward as a mistake, and we wouldn't repeat that mistake today."[31] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photograph_manipulation#Use_in_journalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photograph_manipulation#Use_in... the camera lies

rhelz 3y ago

Thank God. Almost nothing we see is trustable in the first place.

checkyoursudo 3y ago

The good news is that none of our memories, mental representations, or even current perceptions are "real" either.

init2null 3y ago
The even more terrifying part is that they are recreated when we remember. Ask me why I don't value eyewitness testimony.
- kennethrc 3y ago
  TIL memories are .mp3s and not .bz2s
I_Am_Nous 3y ago
>or even current perceptions This is always fun to think about, that there's lag to everything from the time light bounces off an object and travels to my retina to the processing my brain does to understand what it's being shown. So by the time I have processed a visual "reality" it doesn't exist in that state any longer. Add in relativity and I could be experiencing a different time than someone else, AND a different space. If we are fundamentally fluctuations in various quantum fields coalesced into energetic matter that can interact with each other, the lag time between that field fluctuating and those fluctuations interacting with other fluctuations makes me marvel that we can even interact with each other lol
- TeMPOraL 3y ago
  > This is always fun to think about, that there's lag to everything from the time light bounces off an object and travels to my retina to the processing my brain does to understand what it's being shown. It's even funnier (or more disturbing) to think about all the ungodly pile of hacks this processing entails - like using the high-level understanding of how the scene is lit to override color perception (see: tower / checkerboard color illusion), interpolating or otherwise guessing most of what we "see" (see: saccade, blind spot), and lying about passage of time to "cover the tracks" of all the hackery that's going on.

I_Am_Nous 3y ago

Good? Humanity is on a path to further reality breaks unless something changes, and stuff like people believing "Instagram Face" is normal because of automatic digital makeup is just one example of how attitudes can change and affect everything. I remember being taught "don't believe everything you read" but that doesn't seem to be how people approach the internet anymore. The world got way crazier once the internet could affect day to day reality.

moribvndvs 3y ago

> The advantage of what AI instills, Ashe adds, is a “healthy skepticism to our idea of the photograph as a document of objective truth.” Healthy skepticism was learning that we could doctor photos all along, and how it was merely easier with photoshop. Now we create even more in an unbelievable, unstoppable tidal wave of bullshit, and almost everyone has stopped giving a fuck. We’re beyond healthy.

slim 3y ago
I think "post truth" is the most apocalyptic concept invented

jemmyw 3y ago

> None of Your Photos Are Real They are real. They are real photos / images. They just aren't 100% accurate representations of the original scene. But then, no image would be. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Treachery_of_Images https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Treachery_of_Images