Post-Photography and Artificial Intelligence: New Paradigms of Documentary Image

Abstract

This study examines the profound epistemological and praxiological transformation in the field of photography, catalyzed by the rise of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI). The investigation starts from the premise that photography, historically consolidated as a reliable record and a pillar for the construction of memory and historiography, is facing an unprecedented paradigmatic rupture. The advent of new technologies and computational models, particularly Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), inaugurates the era of "post-photography." This new paradigm is characterized by the ability to produce images of remarkable hyperrealism, generated from textual prompts and, therefore, devoid of any optical mediation or indexical link to a referent in the physical world. The image ceases to be a reflection of reality and becomes a device of visual persuasion, capable of establishing plausible narratives regardless of its origin. The central objective of this work is, therefore, to critically analyze these impacts, discussing how AI reconfigures the concepts of visual record and photographic information while fostering an in-depth reflection on the ethical and epistemological responsibilities of information professionals. The adopted methodology, exploratory in nature, articulates a theoretical analysis with an experimental phase. The theoretical framework includes a bibliographic survey encompassing photographic theory, digital culture, and AI, providing the foundation for analyzing documentary paradigms and the challenges imposed by post-photography. The practical phase involved the use of AI tools and Sora for generating synthetic images, with historical photographs from the Instituto Moreira Salles (IMS) collection serving as the reference corpus. The comparative analysis, focused on criteria of verisimilitude, composition, and aesthetic fidelity, aimed to investigate AI’s ability to simulate visual documents and, consequently, to subvert the perception of authenticity. The experimental results demonstrated the remarkable maturity of these technologies, which not only replicated historical photographs with high precision but also convincingly emulated the stylistic nuances of different periods. Thus, this study contributes to consolidating a critical and interdisciplinary research agenda on synthetic imagery within the field of Information Science, advocating for a proactive stance from institutions in the face of a phenomenon that transforms not only photography but the very regime of contemporary visuality.