So with Storm Babat is dropping a month’s rain in a day outside what is a man to do? Well it seems revisit old photos with a good dollop of the latest software to see what can be pulled out of the mists, in digital photography terms, time – 2008. I have to say it is very rewarding to be able work on these images with the latest tools. I’m able to pull out details that I either didn’t have the skills to do 15 years ago. They new AI tools help as well. The image above has some AI generated content and you wouldn’t know unless you’ve walked on the beach below Bamburgh Castle and even then I’m not sure. The ethical questions are vast and I certainly don’t know where this will end. So why did I use the AI generator? To balance the image up. If you want to know the AI generated content it is the very right hand side of the image.

The only AI I used here was the masking selection which really saves an awful lot of time.

Again just the masking assistance.

So what have I learnt using generated AI content? It helps but ultimately it is down to the individual photographer to select the image they want to create. Of course the unscrupulous will palm off wholey AI generated images as the real thing but I suspect they will soon be found out and their reputation, such as it might be, will be shredded.

The real problem with AI is not in the benign area of actual photography but rather fake news. This week has seen the first full information war from the Israel v Hamas conflict over who launched the missile that killed so many people next to the hospital. I’m sure there are hundreds of fake images floating out there showing one side or another do something really bad. With such possibilities it is beholden on respectable news outlets to try and verify the facts as best as they can before pronouncing. I fear in this world of instant comment the pressures will be too great for even the most respected to hold the line.

Worrying times.