“It took far more than pressing a button,” says creator of controversial AI images shown at Belfast exhibition – and, honestly, I agree

Last week the media was in uproar about a major photography gallery in Belfast, Northern Ireland, displaying AI-generated images in an exhibition.

In fact, the chief executive of the Belfast Exposed gallery, the institution under fire, recently defended the decision in a BBC article, as did the creator of the images, Johnny Sheridan, a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) graduate from Ulster University.

I’m sure many of you would scoff at Sheridan's defiantly saying that creating imagery using AI takes “far more than pressing a button,” but I agree with him. Even as a photographer who dislikes generative AI for all sorts of reasons which I won’t get into in this piece, I have to admit that Sheridan is right.

In my view, there’s a huge difference between simply “pressing a button” and articulating a creative prompt that conveys your vision effectively, so much so that an AI is able to bring to life an idea that existed in your mind, just as if you designed it yourself with a tool like Photoshop.

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Above: the AI-generated images were prompted by Johnny Sheridan, a former psychologist and recent Master of Fine Arts graduate from Ulster University

According to Sheridan, along with touching on misogyny, the images also delve into themes of "AI alignment with human values, the impact on employment and fears about the end of humanity"

I don’t know about you, but I see using AI and graphic design, or any other type of creative visuals, as different approaches to the same goal. This doesn’t mean I’m OK with generative AI – I still hate the thought of using it to create images to my bones. But, as a creative, I have to acknowledge that going back and forth with an AI until it renders your idea as you envisioned is a form of creativity.

Now I’m not saying that Sheridan’s images are the best example of this. Admittedly, the bizarre creations, which supposedly convey undertones of anti-misogyny, seem more like dystopian takes on the Kill Bill films. You’ll know what I mean when you look at them and see the woman’s yellow outfit.

Perhaps Sheridan’s AI tool even referenced Kill Bill when creating the scenes, which brings up another thought I recently pondered: AI movie awards celebrating creations that might have infringed on copyrighted content.

But my point is that Sheridan is absolutely right when he says that AI imagery can be much more than button pushing. And while his work might not be the best example of this, I have seen plenty of AI-generated videos in particular that are, and it’s mainly because of the human who prompted the AI.

Hopefully this doesn’t read as a defense of generative AI. It’s not, and I want generative AI to disappear just as quickly as it took the world by storm. But right now we’re talking about recognizing the use of AI as a legitimate form of creativity, not simply button pushing, to which I say it can be.

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