Blog Post #1 – Photo Tampering

One of the many issues that we have talked about in class that has stuck with me is photo tampering and AI generated photos. Photo tampering has existed for almost as long photography has existed. One example of photo tampering that we went over in class was four photos shot by a Civil War photographer. In them, there is a dead soldier framed in different locations with a rifle nearby. However, the dead soldier in each of the pictures is the same person. The photographer moved and framed the dead soldier to different locations to get each picture. This is one of the earliest examples of photo tampering in history. Throughout history, there are many examples of photo tampering for a variety of reasons. In the 1930s, there are three individual pictures, one containing Hitler, another containing Stalin, and another containing Mao Tse-tung. In all three photos, there is a person who was removed from the photo who fell out of favor with each of the respective political leaders. In 1942, there was an image of Mussolini riding a horse and in a heroic pose, but the horse handler was removed from the image. In 1989, a photo of Oprah Winfrey’s head was edited over the body of Ann-Margret on the cover of TV Guide, without the permission of either party. On the cover of the Beatles Abbey Road, Paul McCartney can be seen holding a cigarette. In 2003, however, American poster companies decided to remove the cigarette, without the knowledge of Paul McCartney or Apple Music. Photo tampering can remove the context of which the photo was originally taken in and could potentially harm a person, depending on how the photo is tampered with. 

While photo tampering has existed for a very long time, AI generated photos have only been a recent trend and are becoming an increasing issue. One example that we went over in class is of an artist who submitted an AI generated photo to an art competition. The artist ended up winning the competition and refusing to accept the first place spot and to take the prize money. He stated that he entered the photo to see how easy it was to pass it along as a real photo to show the potential dangers of AI photos. Because of this, photo competitions have changed the way one enters in their photos, to prevent AI photos from entering and potentially winning again.  This was two years ago, and AI generated imaging has only improved, even though it can still be very noticeable from time to time. Aside from photography competitions, there are other issues surrounding AI generated images. The use of generative AI and AI images leaves a massive environmental impact. Generative AI and AI imaging has a similar carbon footprint as someone who is charging their phone. In its current form, anyone who is using AI for any reason is causing serious harm to the environment. There needs to be methods in place to make the use of generative AI more environmentally friendly when used.