08/22/2026
There's this thing happening where people are becoming so used to seeing AI, that they unable to trust whether something is real or not. That's pretty scary, in reality.
I don't just look at a photo anymore and assume it's just a photo, I look hard. I look at all the details. Especially if the photo has that "look." You may know what I'm talking about ~ something just feels too shiny, off, or glazed over in some fashion that you automatically think, "That has to be AI."
I don't really blame people for being overly cautious about AI. It's getting more and more realistic when it comes to "photos," and videos.
Some are obvious, like the AI slop flyers we have been tirelessly seeing every business use for everyday things like restaurant menus, your kids after-school ball park event, your local farm stand, open mic, etc. (Don't even get me started on using AI images for your food items when you literally have the real thing in front of you. 🤦♂️) And others, like videos of animals being saved by some random stranger, are viewed by millions and loved my millions without even realizing it's AI.
Unfortunately, artists, photographers, and writers alike are the ones feeling this the hardest. Our work isn't trusted anymore by the AI skeptics. Our work isn't respected by the AI bros who take it and feed it into the machine and think it's funny. Our work isn't wanted anymore by local businesses because they can just use slop.
We are feeling it HARD and for one, I'm tired of being told my work "looks like AI," when everything "created" by AI is trained on billions of already existing images created by REAL HUMAN ARTISTS.
Support your local artists if you can and please for the love of god, look a little further into someones work before accusing them of using AI. We need to do better.
*Yes, this was a real comment I received about my photos. I'm using it to make a point that people just assume whatever they want*
