An exhibition at Rice University's Moody Center for the Arts, titled 'Imaging after Photography', presents work by seven contemporary artists who use artificial intelligence in ethically considered ways. The show argues we are in a post-photographic moment where AI disrupts the link between photorealism and reality, and features artists who train their algorithms on their own images or public domain datasets to avoid plagiarism.
The exhibition matters because it positions artists, not corporate interests, at the forefront of the critical conversation about AI. It demonstrates that ethical AI art is possible when artists engage with the technology thoughtfully, using it as a tool for innovation and speculative fiction rather than exploitation, thereby offering a hopeful counter-narrative to widespread fears about AI's threat to creativity and artists' livelihoods.