The Power Relations of Photography in the Algorithm Age: From Digitization to AI Generation

Abstract

This article explores the fundamental changes in the paradigms of image shooting and viewing after entering the algorithm age, and studies the power structures of images. The history of the algorithm age began with the digitization of images. With the popularity of the Internet and social media, the language turn of images has gradually completed after entering the AI era. The new shooting and viewing methods have given people more power and broken the existing aesthetic discourse structure. However, at the same time, through algorithms, commodification and addiction mechanisms, another scene of power concentration has also formed. This article emphasizes the changes in the power structure of images, and proposes that in the algorithm age, we need to deal with the power changes of images cautiously to ensure that AIGC technologies have a positive and sustainable impact on social development.