Though since the advent of photography, there has always been doctoring and outright fakes to promote one agenda or another from the paranormal to propaganda, the media was always accorded the social consensus of a level of proof beyond a reasonable doubt be it evidentiary and exculpatory to illustrative, inspirational, aspirational, enlightening to transporting. Now, however, we have all been forcibly aged out of that universal
cohort with the
default setting on our gadgets—beginning with one particular model—switched to AI enhancement and open manipulation, seamless and with few effective safety controls in place. A dose of skepticism is healthy, especially in an environment that’s actively trying to pass off fake news and keep journalism and other institutions
under siege but seeding doubt strips photography of its objective permanence and with this kind of saturation and ease of use—a feature like the automatic focus and flash we take for granted—it is difficult to forecast our collective credence going forward.
synchronoptica
one year ago: an independent press for the stateless (with synchronoptica) plus the architecture of diplomacy
seven years ago: a podcast mini-series on witchcraft plus Babylonia trigonometry
eight years ago: 1980s animated production logos, super-recognisers plus assorted links worth revisiting
nine years ago: conscription, impressment and universal taxation
ten years ago: repentful paintings
