Photography and Artificial Intelligence
There is always a moment when an image comes into being. Sometimes it emerges from light passing through a lens; at other times, from the silent calculations of an algorithm.
My visual research focuses on the relationship between photography, reality, and images generated by artificial intelligence (AI). For me, this technology is both a tool and an object of inquiry: it expands the possibilities of image-making while also transforming the way we interpret images themselves.
Reflecting on art in the age of mechanical reproduction, Walter Benjamin wondered whether the aura of the artwork was destined to disappear. Today, we might ask whether the algorithm is creating a new kind of aura, one composed of suggestion and simulacrum.
Alongside my work as a documentary photographer (see my biographical notes), I have a background in computer science, having graduated in Information Sciences from the University of Bologna. This path has enabled me to develop a dual perspective — both algorithmic and photographic — and to follow technological developments closely, particularly those relating to imagery, while feeling part of a dialogue that brings together disciplines which at first glance may seem far apart.
With the rise of text-to-image (TTI) software such as Midjourney, I began developing projects that incorporate artificial intelligence, often using them to question this very technology and its ability to imitate reality and, consequently, to erode over time what remains of photography’s credibility. I chose to keep this body of work clearly separate, so as not to confuse those who follow my documentary practice, which is rooted in the real world and in the urgency of bearing witness. Whereas photography is anchored to Barthes’s notion of the “that-has-been”, artificial intelligence operates instead within the realm of the “could-have-been”. It inhabits a hypothetical dimension that opens up creative and unconscious possibilities, while at the same time raising ethical questions.
I believe that the role of the artist today is to inhabit the threshold. It is not a matter of choosing between tradition and innovation, but of making both a living subject of reflection.
Artificial intelligence should not be treated as a magic wand or an oracle, but as a tool capable of offering new possibilities. It can replace our intelligence and creativity if we allow it to, if we surrender to intellectual laziness; yet it can also provide new stimuli, ideas, and forms of expression. It is important to understand how it works, to experiment with it, to test its limits, and to ensure that it is not governed solely as an instrument of power.
The future will not be written by machines, but by those who learn to engage with them consciously, using technology to expand rather than diminish their humanity.
PROJECTS
Broken Mirror
This project was created using artificial intelligence, visually recalling the aesthetics of classic documentary photography. Through metaphor, the work narrates the North Korean dictatorship and the propaganda that governs the lives of its citizens, while at the same time suggesting a broader reflection: the alien element that infiltrates people’s everyday lives, altering identity, self-perception, and modes of communication and relationships, can be read as a representation of the invasive and controlling nature of technology — a vision that also questions our own future.He looks like you
A project that weaves together family photographs, collages, graphic interventions, and AI-generated images to give shape to the encounter that never took place between my father Giorgio and my son Ulisse. The result is an imaginary family album, in which reality and fiction overlap, transforming absence into presence and offering a possible form of solace.The Ravenous Machine
A project exploring the “insatiable hunger” for data of artificial intelligence (AI), trained through the labeling and descriptions of the data that make up datasets. These activities are often carried out unwittingly by internet users, who are given tests sweetened with graphics and elements such as kittens, giving the impression of performing something harmless. Through photographs, video frames, AI-generated images, and graphic interventions, I explored how systems designed for the security of users and web services (e.g., reCAPTCHA) in fact also contribute to improving AI-based systems, such as autonomous driving technologies, but also in the military field (for obstacle recognition or target identification by war drones). This creates a short circuit between what is supposed to serve protection and security and what instead exploits human abilities to train this new technology; between what serves to distinguish a human being from a bot and what instead helps bots imitate humans, ever more accurately and alarmingly. From all this arise critical issues regarding ethics, transparency, the unwitting exploitation of people, and our future.AI and Prejudice
A project that provocatively reflects on the gender algorithmic biases embedded in artificial intelligence. The starting point is an investigation carried out by The Guardian, showing how images of women in completely ordinary contexts — from exercising to motherhood — are disproportionately labeled as “indecent” compared to those of men. AI thus reveals itself not as a neutral tool, but as a reflection and amplifier of social gender inequalities.Tear-anny
The title playfully fuses the words tear and tyranny in a series of images created with text-to-image (TTI) software, exploring the contrast between political authority, intimacy, and human emotional expression. Inspired by the work of British artist Alison Jackson and using artificial intelligence, I represented political leaders in private moments, away from the spotlight. These iconic faces, often perceived as impenetrable and resolute, are transposed into a visual language that suggests inner conflicts stemming from the weight of decisions that made them symbols of rights or oppression.
EXHIBITIONS
In 2023 I was selected by the Photo Vogue Festival, an event where I was also a speaker with a talk entitled ‘Broken Mirror'. A dystopian guide to crossing the border’. In 2024 I was exhibited in the major exhibition Pixel Perceptions: Into the Eye of AI, which brought together an international selection of the most interesting visual artists working with artificial intelligence and explored how this new technology affects, consciously and unconsciously, our perception of the world.
2025, The Ravenous Machine – Tbilisi (GE), Kolga Tbilisi Photo
2025, Broken Mirror – Napoli, Napoli Photo Festival
2025, Broken Mirror – Wiesbaden (DE), Wiesbaden Photo Days 2025
2025, Broken Mirror – Maranello, Congresso FIAF
2025, Broken Mirror – Milano, Mia Photo Fair
2025, Broken Mirror – Berlin (DE), Parallel Realities, Kommunale Galerie Berlin
2025, Broken Mirror – Roma, Centro Sperimentale di Fotografia Adams
2024, Broken Mirror – Colleferro (Roma), Cosmo Photo Fest
2024, Broken Mirror – Otranto (Lecce), Fase Festival
2024, Broken Mirror – San Felice sul Panaro (Modena), FotoIncontri Festival
2024, He Looks Like You – Paola (Cosenza), Fotografia Calabria Festival
2024, He Looks Like You – Groningen (NL), Pixel Perceptions: Into the Eye of AI
2023, Broken Mirror – Tbilisi (GE), Kolga Tbilisi Photo
2023, Broken Mirror – Bologna, PhMuseum Days
2023, Broken Mirror – Verzasca (CH), Verzasca Foto Festival
2023, Broken Mirror – Jakarta (ID), Jakarta International Photography Festival
2023, Broken Mirror – Piacenza, Photo’23 Foto-Sintesi
2023, Broken Mirror – Milano, PhotoVogue Festival
WORKSHOP & PUBLIC TALKS
Over the years I have been invited to hold workshops, talks, and lectures in some of the most important Italian photography festivals and institutions. My projects on the dialogue between photography and artificial intelligence have been presented at New York University in Florence, MIA Photo Fair in Milan, Fotografia Calabria Festival, Napoli Photo Festival, SISF Italian Society for the Study of Photography, Riaperture Festival in Ferrara, the Festival of Ethical Photography in Lodi and Photo Vogue Festival. I have also collaborated with FIAF, ANFM, CNA Emilia Romagna, and various cultural associations and photography clubs across Italy. Alongside these events, I have given guest lectures and radio interviews, such as on POLI.RADIO (the student radio of the Politecnico of Milan), contributing to a broader public debate on the creative and ethical implications of new technologies in the visual arts.
PUBLICATIONS AND INTERVIEWS
In recent years, my work and reflections on the relationship between photography and artificial intelligence have been published and discussed in leading national and international magazines and journals. I have written and given interviews for specialized publications such as Gente di Fotografia, FotoIT, and Civiltà dei Dati, as well as for generalist and visual culture magazines including D La Repubblica, Marie Claire and Class Magazine. Internationally, my work has been featured by outlets such as Haaretz and Bird in Flight, and also presented in Internazionale and Cult Magazine, contributing to a critical debate on the potential and risks of new technologies applied to art and imagery.