This event will provide a listening space and brainstorming sessions where we can discuss how AI has changed the work and livelihood opportunities for photographers in the commercial and creative industries. We will talk about protecting intellectual property, compensation for images being used for AI training data, and any other types of support that would be useful for the community.

This meetup is part of a larger project to create a working protocol and guidelines to help photographers be properly compensated for their work in this era of artificially generated imagery. Specifically, the two main goals of the project are:

1. To develop clear and transparent guidelines for the use of original photography in AI software, including how to calculate the compensation an artist should expect for the use of their work. This would be similar to an image licensing agreement for a commercial photographer (and we will reference these existing guides).
2. To provide a framework for photographers who are concerned about this new precarity in their field and to offer resources that could lead them towards practical steps in order to protect their existing work and adapt to the new creative industries landscape in conjunction with AI-imagery.

The meeting will be held at the University of Toronto. We will meet in the Learning Hub at the Faculty of Information, on the 4th floor of the Bissell Building (140 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3G6). Food and drinks will be provided.

This event is funded by the Creative Labour and Critical Futures Research Cluster, which studies critical ethical approaches to digital research in the wake of challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence and the potential for creative workers to generate transformative technological and social futures.