"Digital Photography Art" will disappear within five years—this is another title that suddenly popped into my head while walking.
Although throughout the history of photography, the concept of "photographic art" has always been controversial, the vast majority of people still agree that good photographic works are "works of art," even if their value doesn't quite match that of paintings.
No matter how fast AI develops, I truly do not believe that "painters" will disappear. In terms of ability, we don't yet see the possibility of AI replacing that unique creativity and way of thinking; in terms of emotion, the process of applying strokes onto a medium will not be reduced to zero by the emergence of AI.
Artworks, including photographic ones, possess "time value" in addition to the aforementioned creativity and medium value.
Therefore, paintings exist, film exists, and documentary photography—as a record of history—also exists. However, digital photography created purely for artistic purposes may begin to fade into obsolescence.
Excellent photographers, like painters, certainly possess unique creativity and perspectives, but shooting is merely a means. I believe that within three to five years, AI models will provide better means and a larger space for creative expression than digital cameras.
The standards by which we judge a photograph—theme, composition, lighting, and so on—will almost certainly be achieved more effectively through AI models in the near future. Thanks also to the collective efforts of photography enthusiasts worldwide over the years, there are almost no corners of the Earth that a camera hasn't reached. "Mass photography" will eventually be swept into the archives of history by "mass models."
There are still too many people who believe that AI-generated photos lack sufficient resolution, realism, and "emotion."
Regarding resolution, AI models upgrade by a generation every six months. For images, this means the resolution doubles or even quadruples. Even if we assume the upgrade speed will slow down, if it upgrades by one generation per year on average over the next five years, with the resolution doubling each time, that would be 2 to the 5th power, or 32 times. Currently, AI-generated images can reach Full HD standards (1920X1080, 2 megapixels). In five years, that will be 64 megapixels—the highest level currently found in 135 (full-frame) digital cameras. Some might say digital camera resolution will also increase, but look back: how long has the maximum resolution of full-frame cameras been stuck at the 60-megapixel level?
As for realism, while models might not learn all the laws of the physical world within five years, generating realistic static images is nearly the simplest of tasks.
"Emotion"? A painter paints with a brush; an AI "artist" paints with a model. The emotion we speak of likely stems from human creation. Digital photographers? Digital cameras will become awkward tools, neither superior nor convenient enough.
Yes, we still need to record life and events in the real world at all times. However, there may still be a distance between that and "art."
We will become indifferent to equipment; smartphones are already the most frequent tools for recording daily life. Sporting events and serious news reporting will be left to specialized institutions with professional gear. What about street and documentary photography? Perhaps we will need to provide camera negatives to partially prove their authenticity.
Digital devices themselves will not disappear, as we need massive amounts of image data—both for training models and for building digital worlds.
However, all camera manufacturers should seriously consider one question: their largest customer base—digital photography enthusiasts—may become an even smaller niche group than film photographers as the art of digital photography dies out.