Episode 57 - Seeing is believing
Speaker: A few months ago, I did a shoot with a friend who came to visit.
Speaker: The first time I photographed her was about 20 years ago, and back then, we had a lot of fun.
Speaker: We used an incredible makeup artist. His name is Samuel Paul.
Speaker: He is truly an artist, a painter who is also an incredible makeup artist.
Speaker: Back in the day, we'd come up with incredible ideas, and no matter how crazy they were, he could make them happen.
Speaker: He could paint a butterfly on a girl or actually turn the girl's face into a butterfly.
Speaker: He took the idea and went crazy with it, creating images that I still love.
Speaker: But now it's 2026.
Speaker: This friend came to visit me, and we wanted to do a shoot together.
Speaker: She had the idea of turning half of her face into a tiger.
Speaker: At first, we were both excited about it.
Speaker: I called my makeup artist here, and he loved the idea as well.
Speaker: Then something strange happened.
Speaker: We all started talking about where the world is today.
Speaker: If we were to create this image, with a makeup artist painting half of her face as if she were a tiger, would anybody think it was real?
Speaker: Sadly, we all thought that if we worked hard to create beautiful light, great makeup, and a beautiful model, and spent time in the studio creating this incredible image, people might simply dismiss it and say, "Oh, that's AI."
Speaker: At the end of the day, we did not do that concept because we were afraid no one would believe it.
Speaker: This is not an isolated incident.
Speaker: You see, there is an erosion of trust taking place, and it has caused the devaluation of human creativity in the arts.
Speaker: So let me ask you a question.
Speaker: When was the last time you saw an incredible photograph online and your first response was not wonder, but suspicion?
Speaker: I live in Japan, and very often I get a text from a friend saying, "Is this real? I saw this was happening in Japan. Is this real? Does this exist?"
Speaker: It's so common that it doesn't surprise me anymore.
Speaker: Maybe you saw an extraordinary landscape where the light was perfect, the clouds were almost unbelievable, and the sunset made you stop in your tracks.
Speaker: Or maybe a wild animal appeared at exactly the right moment.
Speaker: Maybe it was a portrait that was perfect, with a level of detail, beauty, and imagination that stopped you right in your tracks.
Speaker: But instead of asking, "How did the photographer create that?" you asked, "Is this real?"
Speaker: Or perhaps you immediately thought, "That has to be AI."
Speaker: That reaction represents one of the most significant changes taking place in visual culture today.
Speaker: For most of photography's history, an extraordinary image inspired curiosity.
Speaker: It made us wonder about the photographer's skill.
Speaker: We wanted to know the location, the lighting, the lens, the timing, the technique, the tools used, or the story behind the moment.
Speaker: Today, sadly, an extraordinary image can create the opposite reaction.
Speaker: Instead of admiration, it creates doubt.
Speaker: Instead of curiosity, it creates suspicion.
Speaker: Instead of honoring the artist's achievement, the audience begins by questioning whether there was an achievement at all.
Speaker: And that may be one of the most damaging consequences of the flood of fake images, synthetic photographs, deepfake video, manipulated audio, and AI-generated content surrounding us.
Speaker: The danger is not simply that fake images are being accepted as real.
Speaker: The danger is that real images are increasingly being dismissed as fake.
Speaker: We are entering a world where seeing is no longer believing.
Speaker: Actually, I can't say we're entering that world.
Speaker: We are there.
Speaker: Seeing is no longer believing unless you see it in real life with your own eyes.
Speaker: We may also be entering a world where disbelief has become automatic.
Speaker: There is an erosion of trust taking place, and it's not just affecting the photography world.
Speaker: It's affecting all of us as artists, no matter what medium we work in.
Speaker: It is our responsibility to understand what is happening.
Speaker: Today, we're talking about the erosion of visual trust and how it is affecting photographers and artists of all genres around the world.
Speaker: There are some who may say that photography has never been completely truthful.
Speaker: Let's establish that from the beginning.
Speaker: Photographers have always made choices.
Speaker: We choose the frame.
Speaker: There may be one isolated incident happening right in front of us that tells one story, but you turn around or look to your right or left of the frame, and it's an entirely different story.
Speaker: Photographers have always made choices.
Speaker: We choose the frame.
Speaker: We choose the lens.
Speaker: We decide where to stand.
Speaker: We choose the lighting, exposure, and moment.
Speaker: We are deciding what the viewer sees.
Speaker: But we also decide what remains outside the frame.
Speaker: That has always been the case.
Speaker: But today, it's more complex.
Speaker: Today, there is retouching, cropping, coloring, combining, and manipulating.
Speaker: I'm not saying that photography was perfect from the beginning.
Speaker: The idea of photography being unquestionable truth is not historically accurate.
Speaker: But despite all of that, photography carried an unwritten promise.
Speaker: The promise was not that every photograph told the complete truth.
Speaker: The promise was that, at some point, something had existed in front of the camera.
Speaker: A person had stood there.
Speaker: Light had touched a face.
Speaker: An event had occurred.
Speaker: A moment that has passed had been recorded.
Speaker: This actually happened.
Speaker: The photograph was never the entire truth, but it carried evidence of contact with the world.
Speaker: Synthetic imagery changes that relationship.
Speaker: Images now appear to record events that never happened.
Speaker: So what's happening now?
Speaker: Skepticism.
Speaker: When uncertainty becomes constant, people begin to protect themselves through skepticism.
Speaker: At first, that skepticism may feel intelligent.
Speaker: We should question what we see.
Speaker: We should verify extraordinary claims.
Speaker: We should not automatically believe everything that appears on a screen.
Speaker: But here's the danger in that.
Speaker: Healthy skepticism can slowly become permanent disbelief, and permanent disbelief creates a new kind of vulnerability.
Speaker: Yes, when people believe everything, they can be manipulated.
Speaker: But when people believe nothing, they can also be manipulated.
Speaker: This is where we are now.
Speaker: You've heard the term "fake news."
Speaker: There's a term used by researchers called the "Liar's Dividend."
Speaker: It describes what happens when the existence of convincing fake media gives people the ability to deny authentic evidence.
Speaker: A person is recorded saying something damaging, and they claim the recording was generated.
Speaker: A video documents an event, and they dismiss it as a deepfake.
Speaker: Thirty years ago, there was the Rodney King beating in Los Angeles.
Speaker: That video changed history in America.
Speaker: If you dismiss and call everything fake, you don't necessarily need to prove that the evidence is false.
Speaker: You only need to introduce enough doubt.
Speaker: Once synthetic media becomes common knowledge, the accusation of fakery can become a defense against accountability.
Speaker: That's where we are now.
Speaker: What used to outrage us, we blow off.
Speaker: How did we get here?
Speaker: Research has found that false claims that authentic material is fake can benefit public figures by creating uncertainty and weakening the force of genuine evidence.
Speaker: Think about how dangerous that is.
Speaker: Actually, you don't have to think about it.
Speaker: Just look at what's happening right now.
Speaker: The first level of danger is that a fake image can make us believe something that did not happen.
Speaker: The second, and potentially deeper, level is that the existence of fake images can make us reject something that did happen.
Speaker: Truth no longer has to be disproven.
Speaker: It only has to be made questionable.
Speaker: Now, did AI create all of this?
Speaker: No.
Speaker: It did add fuel to the fire.
Speaker: This affects politics, journalism, criminal evidence, human rights documentation, war photography, historical records, but it also affects everyday life.
Speaker: A person can deny a real message.
Speaker: A company can question legitimate documentation.
Speaker: An abuser can claim evidence was manufactured.
Speaker: The victims are forced to prove not only what happened, but that the evidence showing what happened is authentic.
Speaker: What has happened to our world?
Speaker: The age of synthetic media does not simply create more lies.
Speaker: It gives truth fewer places to stand.
Speaker: But let's talk about you and how all of this is affecting you.
Speaker: You've worked hard to master your craft.
Speaker: You've worked hard to sharpen your skills.
Speaker: You spend thousands of dollars buying your gear, great lenses, great cameras, fast computers, and hard drives to show the best work you can create.
Speaker: But now, is everything questioned?
Speaker: As photographers, it is now important that we make work that can withstand that examination.
Speaker: Is this real, or is this fake?
Speaker: So how do we do that?
Speaker: We have to be honest about our tools, precise about our methods, and protect the difference between a recorded moment and a generated possibility.
Speaker: The future of photography and art in general will not depend only on what cameras or computers are capable of producing.
Speaker: It will depend on whether people still believe us.
Speaker: And that trust may become the most valuable thing a photographer can possess.
Speaker: I want to thank you for being here today on this podcast and listening to me talk about this critical moment in our time.
Speaker: This is a moment we'll be talking about for a very long time.
Speaker: Keep protecting your visual integrity.
Speaker: Never forget, the goal of responsible photography is not simply to show people something remarkable.
Speaker: It is to give them a reason to believe that what they are seeing deserves their trust.
Speaker: Thank you for your time.
Speaker: I look forward to seeing you in the next episode.
Speaker: Thank you again.
Speaker: Bye for now.
