The definition of Ethics and Morals is of a personal choice. This is like asking the question “What is the perfect temperature for a cold or hot beverage?”  Any attempt at a definition would be skewed by my personal bias so I took to the internet to look it up and go from there.

Ethics refers to the structured principles and guidelines that shape conduct, often established by external sources like societies or professional organizations, while morals are personal values shaped by individual beliefs about right and wrong. Ethics are more rigid and collective, whereas morals are more fluid and subjective.

For the purposes of this article, this definition is good enough. The two words that jump out in the definition are “personal choice” and it is this personal choice where we (as photographers and creators) walk that dull butterknife’s edge of interpreting, explaining, defending, justifying about the use of “Artificial Intelligence” in the creative process. In my ethics & morals, AI tools are just another tool to be used to accomplish a desired outcome.

As creators we take an image and manipulate it to our vision or statement we want to make. We create art. Does an artist with a paintbrush and a canvas have a restriction that they can only paint inside the lines? No. The use of AI in creating art is limited to the personal ethics & morals of the creator.

“Art is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone will have their own interpretation.”

― E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly

The inclusion of AI in photography tools

Computer software that we use to manipulate our images has been around for as long as digital images existed. They grew up together. The software to manipulate images evolves at a rapid pace. The companies that are in this genre of software are racing to stuff more features and capabilities in a desperate attempt to gain our purchase or secure subscription dollars. Many of these companies are labeling any ‘better-than-half-working’ feature as some magic ‘Make my photo look awesome’ button that corrects poor photography or light. Unfortunately, this feature race has turned photography into a generative quagmire of the unimaginative.

There are areas of photography where I am an advocate for the use of this technology.

• Asking AI agents to help plan your next photography outing and what to take.
• Asking how to set your camera up to take certain pictures.
• In using the assisted culling features in your Asset Manager software to evaluate your images to work on only the better ones first.
• Research other photographers who took similar images to get inspiration…. and more

Should you use AI tools to help you with your images? Certainly.

Consider a juried photography contest. Typically, the contest gives some background on the judges(s). You have several images that you are considering to submit. Your AI prompt might be something like:

Assume you are a judge in a photography contest. Your background is {insert the judges background}. Select 2 of the loaded images that you would most likely find as better candidates for winning the competition.  Based on your background list any changes your would like to see to the selected images and what steps I need to do to achieve them in Photoshop.

Then you attach your images to the prompt and submit it.

My position is that this is not cheating. This is using a tool to get a second opinion. The prompt may be too complex, and AI may just stop responding.  Is this any different from getting a second opinion from a human? You cannot control submissions from other entrants, but you can use whatever tools that are available to give your images a better chance. You might also learn something about how to make your images look better!

Another use of AI is to ask how to achieve a look of {insert your favorite artist} in your images using {insert your photo editing tool of choice}.  The AI will try to make the best response possible, it will point you to and put you on the path, but you still must walk that path. Using AI in this manner is much more efficient use of time than wading through hundreds of blogs, web pages, ads, paywalls and dead ends. This AI will help you spend less time at the computer and more time getting better with your photography.

The only genre of photography where every photographer can agree that AI has no place is in Photojournalism and it would be unethical. It is not allowed.

Every image file shares the same traits regardless of image type. They are just data files and contain 1’s and 0’s arranged in a specific sequence or format for the image type. Because of this it is difficult to detect if AI was used in the creation of or alteration in an image. That is the unfortunate truth.  In the previous example, is the use of AI to select the best candidate and give recommendations on how to improve the image considered using AI? This is just one of the examples of the grey line of the ethics and morals of using AI in photography.

Culling Images

In the Digital Asset management class of software which includes Adobe Lightroom, Photo Mechanic Plus, AfterShoot, Narrative Select, FastRawViewer, Pixellu, Capture One and others the ability for the asset management software to use AI to detect subjects, focus, eyes open is an invaluable aid or tool to the photographer in culling their images.

Consider all digital cameras made within the last 20 years can take multiple shots by holding a shutter button down. This technique has even acquired a name of ‘spray and pray’ where out of the multiple shots, you have captured that 1 or 2 images that are perfect. But sorting through potentially hundreds of images for that perfect one becomes time consuming. This is where assisted culling takes over as it will only mark the shots that meet your criteria of a ‘good shot’.

For example, you are walking around and taking pictures throughout the day and find that you have taken several thousand pictures and almost filled your 256GB card. Load it to Lightroom, set the Assisted Culling feature on it to label the keepers of Sharp focus, eyes open, auto reject exposure issues, misfires and documents at a 90% rate, put the Selected pictures in a specific collection and the rejects in another.  Then you can take care of your equipment, and yourself while the computer churns on the data. When the computer has completed this culling, you are left with 30 great looking images.  Those are the ones you start to produce into something that you want to share.  Lower the criteria to 80% see the next set and repeat.  The images may be good but would take hours to produce something awesome.

Closing

Images taken with any digital camera since the early 2000’s can manipulate the appearance of an image through the settings in their menus. Technically this is result of dedicated programs that run within the camera so that you can adjust the settings through the menus.  Can this be considered ‘Artificial’ as it is not the true light that struck the sensor? Morals and Ethics in photography is a tough subject as there is no one truth or answer. For every discussion point, there is a counter point, and it never stops.

What tools and techniques you use, and the amount used is a personal choice. We all must face the reality that it is different for everyone and leave it at that. Local and state level contest rules need to adapt to define the limits of the use of AI in a submitted image instead of prohibiting because it’s a tool that is here to stay.

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