Foam Magazine #66 – Missing Mirror

Are you a robot? is a question everyone has likely come across while using the internet. The most common way to prove that you’re, in fact, not a robot is by analysing a set of photographs and selecting the ones depicting a bus, a motorcycle, a fire hydrant, or a traffic light. With this simple but effective way, you demonstrate your ability to interpret images and automatically position yourself out with the capacities of traditional operating systems or viruses. Until now. The ability of machines to ‘see’ has improved tremendously over the past decades, meaning that computers have been trained, by humans, to recognise and generate images that come shockingly close to a photo. We recognise the need for a platform to understand the mechanics behind the technology, discuss how the photographic medium is influenced, and in which ways we need to adapt our reading and handling of images.

Photography Through the Lens of AI is a multidimensional project hosted by Foam, combining an exhibition, digital platform, and magazine. Together we look at the growing overlaps between art, technology, and society, exploring how the recent advancements in AI impact our relationship with the image, ourselves, and our perception of reality. How do we form a truthful image of the world when credibility is questioned? And vice versa, how do we recognise ourselves in the images around us?