“It took far more than pressing a button,” says creator of controversial AI images shown at Belfast exhibition – and, honestly, I agree
The man behind AI-generated images that have caused a ruckus after recently being displayed at a major photography exhibition has defended his work – and, even as a photographer who dislikes AI, I agree with him
In Belfast, Northern Ireland, a photography gallery recently sparked controversy by displaying AI-generated images in an exhibition. The Belfast Exposed gallery's chief executive defended the decision in a BBC article, as did the creator, Johnny Sheridan, a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) graduate from Ulster University. Sheridan's claim that creating imagery with AI takes "far more than pressing a button" resonates with the author, who agrees that there's a significant difference between pressing a button and formulating a creative prompt that effectively conveys one's vision, much like designing the image with a tool like Photoshop.
While the author despises the use of generative AI for image creation, they acknowledge that the iterative process of refining an AI's output to match one's vision is a form of creativity. Sheridan's AI-generated images, which some see as dystopian interpretations of the Kill Bill films, are not the most compelling examples, but they demonstrate that AI imagery can be more than mere button pushing.
The author hopes this piece is not seen as a defense of generative AI, but rather as recognition of its role as a legitimate form of creativity, not just button pushing.
Written by urgent.news from Digital Camera World's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
