In an era where artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the world of art and creativeness, while simultaneously raising fears and concerns, an authoritative voice rises to offer an encouraging perspective. Annie Leibovitz, a legendary photographer, not only does not fear the impact of AI on photography, but sees it as an exciting opportunity to expand creative horizons.
During his recent introduction to the French Academy of Fine Arts, Leibovitz suggested that this technology could become the next great tool available to professionals.
The AI? For Annie Leibovitz it's a big new toy
If you think that a great professional like Annie Leibovitz can tremble with fear in the face of the advance of AI, you are wrong. To her, this technology is “just” a shiny new toy to add to her collection of photography tools. In an interview with AFP, he said with a smile: “It doesn't bother me at all.” In fact, it almost seems like she couldn't wait to get her hands on this technological marvel and see what it can do with it. Unless you already have, of course.
Of course, progress always brings with it a hint of fear. But for Leibovitz, the key is to “take the plunge” and dive headfirst into this new world. In short, instead of running away from the AI screaming (perhaps in prey to fears of an Apocalypse), you have to take her by the hand and take her for a ride in the playground of creativity.
Photoshop, the big brother of AI
After all, Annie Leibovitz knows well that photography has never been a perfect representation of reality. “The photograph itself isn't really real,” she admitted with a wink. For this reason, just as she enthusiastically embraced Photoshop and all its tools for manipulating images, she now sees AI as another option for shaping and controlling the final result.
AI, all things considered, is Photoshop's little brother: another brush in the photographer's palette, another way to shape one's artistic vision. And if Photoshop didn't retire photographers, why should AI with i symptomographs?
Fear of the unknown?
Of course, not everyone has the courage of Annie Leibovitz. Many artists fear that AI could steal their work or infringe copyright. Software like midjourney, Stable Diffusion and DALL-E, which generate realistic images from simple textual descriptions, appear to blur the line between human creation and automation.
But Leibovitz is not alone in her enthusiasm. More and more artists see AI as an opportunity to push boundaries, to explore new creative territories. Perhaps, her perspective suggests, fear of AI is just fear of the unknown.
And artists, by definition, should not fear the unknown, but embrace it with a smile and a handshake. Or not?
