The Synthetic Eye

Photography Transformed in the Age of AI

Fred Ritchin

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English

Thames & Hudson
27 February 2025

Photography & photographs; Artificial intelligence

An essential investigation into the murky ethics of AI, one that calls into question the future of photography.

Artificial Intelligence is driving a fourth industrial revolution and, as The Synthetic Eye shows, the centre will not hold.

How can we believe or trust the images we are being shown? What role do photographers, the media and technology companies have in upholding the authenticity of photographs? Can synthetic imagery be utilized to enhance our understanding of our world?

A revelatory roadmap of today's image universe, The Synthetic Eye explores how Artificial Intelligence has fundamentally transformed our sense of the real, the possible and the actual. Arranged into seven distinct chapters, it interrogates AI's engagement with history, how it has changed our understanding of reality, and the positive opportunities and dystopian scenarios that lurk beneath the surface of artificially generated images.

By: Fred Ritchin
Imprint: Thames & Hudson
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
Weight: 520g
ISBN: 9780500297391
ISBN 10: 0500297398
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 27 February 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction 1. Exiting the Photographic Universe 2. Synthetic Dreams: A Portfolio 3. Witnessing the World 4. Alternative Photographies 5. Authoring the Image 6. Of Peace and Healing 7. Psyche and Spirit Conclusion

Fred Ritchin is a writer, educator and photography critic. Currently the Dean Emeritus of the International Center of Photography (ICP) School, Ritchin was also the founding director of the Documentary Photography and Photojournalism Program at the School of ICP. Prior to joining ICP, Ritchin was professor of photography and imaging at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and co-director of the NYU/Magnum Foundation Photography and Human Rights educational program. He has worked as the picture editor of The New York Times Magazine (1978-1982) and executive editor of Camera Arts magazine (1982-1983). Ritchin's previous publications include Bending The Frame: Photojournalism, Documentary and the Citizen and After Photography.

Reviews for The Synthetic Eye: Photography Transformed in the Age of AI

An essential primer for mass visual literacy in the age of artificial intelligence.-- ""Art in America"" In this smart and searching book, [Fred Ritchin] explores the interaction between digital photography and artificial intelligence systems, which he sees as both positive and terrifying. . . . Ritchin accepts that being skeptical of all images is an obvious response to this creative fakery, but he also sees the potential for photography to reclaim and expand its role as an artform. . . . A thought-provoking study.-- ""Kirkus Reviews"" (3/15/2025 12:00:00 AM) Ritchin's goal with The Synthetic Eye leans toward exploration of the new possibilities AI presents for photography rather than bemoaning what it closes off. The book includes substantial portfolios of the results of his queries to DALL-E, DreamStudio, and other AI tools, and some of them are delightful and provocative, art in themselves... He points to his own concept of Four Corners, where an image online provides information about an image's backstory, authorship, links, and related imagery.-- ""Mark Athitakis, On the Seawall""