This is a really important discussion, and I’m glad we’re having it. AI has become incredibly powerful for creating and modifying images, and the fact that it’s now built directly into Photoshop and Lightroom makes things even more complicated for photography moving forward.
I’ve tried to keep our guidelines around AI simple and clear, which you can view here:
AI-Generated Images
I don’t see a reason to allow fully AI-generated images on NPN. That’s not photography, it’s computer-generated art. Where things get more nuanced is in cases like David’s example above. It’s not fully generated, but it goes well beyond what I’d consider normal cleanup. In situations like that, it should absolutely be disclosed, and I think it raises a valid question about where the line should be. That’s worth discussing as a community.
Another area we’ve started to see is the use of AI for writing critiques. Since images can be uploaded to an LLM and analyzed automatically, it’s something we need to be mindful of. We’ve only run into this once so far, but it prompted me to add this section to the guidelines:
Authenticity in Critique (AI Use)
The reality is that it’s getting harder to identify AI-generated content, and that’s not going to change. It will only become more convincing over time. We’re in a strange moment with all of this, but if anything, it makes authentic photographic work even more meaningful.
That’s what we’ll continue to prioritize here. I don’t expect this to become a major issue for NPN. We may see the occasional bad actor, but so far this community tends to attract people who are genuinely interested in growing their craft, not just chasing attention. That culture goes a long way in keeping things grounded.