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Art show lifts lid on the use of AI in photography

Fergus Laidlaw/Arnab Chakravarty An AI image of a woman with short curly hair, holding sunflowers, being projected onto a wall, she is smiling and looking straight at the camera Fergus Laidlaw/Arnab Chakravarty
An AI image recreated from the description of another photo that said "smiling woman, holding a bouquet of sunflowers in front of a blue background"

An art exhibition showcasing the past and future of the art of photography will also press viewers to be more "critical and informed" about the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Community Portraits uses a variety of photographic techniques to capture images of ordinary people in Bedford who would not usually get the chance of a professional gallery shot.

Arnab Chakravarty, a digital artist whose AI work will be on show, said he wanted viewers to question what they were seeing, as well as "ask questions and be aware of the whole problematic nature of it."

The exhibition runs at The Higgins Bedford, until 23 February.

Bedford College student A woman, looking to the right, in front of a green backing, with her long dark hair down, wearing a T-shirt and necklaces Bedford College student
Families, college students and carers feature in the Community Portraits project

Mr Chakravarty, who is working with Fergus Laidlaw, said: "There is a lot of hype around AI - everyone is taking about it.

"It's like the Wild West, we don't have set standards.

"People should question what they are seeing, ask questions and be aware of the whole problematic nature of it."

In the exhibition a computers take one of the portraits, use the images description and then creates a new AI image, for visitors to see if it is a successful interpretation or not.

"The machine sees the stereotypes and replicated bias, but we can see more than the person in front of us.

"This is the future we're heading towards, so let's be a bit more critical and informed about it."

Bedford College student A photo taken of a photo shoot at Fujifilm Home of Production, showing three people holding cameras, a model posing for an image and other people standing around helping, all wearing black clothingBedford College student
Many of the photographs were taken at FUJIFILM House of Photography, in London

The exhibition by Bedford Creative Arts (BCA), in collaborated with The Higgins, and supported by Bedford-based Fujifilm UK, features images that have been taken using cyanotype or glass-plate techniques - and the latest digital cameras.

Ami Aubrey, programme producer for BCA, said they had to chose 150 images from more than 1,000.

"We hope that visitors will be inspired to consider the role of the camera in capturing portraits – not just the mobile phone," she said.

"It’s a reflection on photography’s value as an artform as we enter a future where anyone can take a photo, but it is also open to manipulation through technology."

Chiara MacCall A Romanian group, posing for a photo, in a studio, one child is holding a flag, while another is away from the camera standing in a cornerChiara MacCall
The rich culture of Bedford is a feature of the exhibition

The exhibition received funding from Arts Council England, The Steel Charitable Trust, The Wixamtree Trust and Fujifilm UK.

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