Documentary in the Age of AI

‘Documentary in the Age of AI is a distinguished contribution that moves beyond uncontentious debates on AI-generated creativity. It incisively examines the impact of generative AI across the entire documentary workflow as a creative act of ‘representing’ factuality. The book asks us to consider the extent to which documentary makers can – and should – permit AI systems to reframe events and stories originally intended for human telling. More than an empirical reflection on the future of the documentary sector, Documentary in the Age of AI offers a profound philosophical inquiry into (post-)truth and the shifting locus of memory from humans to the non-human entity.’ – Sun Park, Ad Astra Fellow/Assistant Professor in AI and Digital Cultural Heritage, University College Dublin
‘A timely volume that critically reviews the algorithmically mediated landscape in which documentary practitioners are working, Documentary in the Age of AI offers readers both theoretical and empirical insights into the myriad ways AI technologies are reshaping the documentary form and practice today. The book brings together work by a diverse slate of media theorists, filmmakers, and technologists, addressing urgent questions about documentary and truth, ethics, practitioners’ agency, creative labour, and data colonialism. This is a valuable resource for students and scholars of documentary media.’ – Pei-Sze Chow, Assistant Professor of Digital Culture and New Media, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
In recent years, the convergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and documentary filmmaking has sparked innovative approaches to storytelling, challenging traditional methods and opening new avenues for exploration. The integration of AI into documentary filmmaking has not only revolutionized production techniques but also raised critical questions about ethics, authenticity and the nature of truth in storytelling. As AI tools become more sophisticated, they offer filmmakers unprecedented capabilities to enhance creativity, automate tasks and manipulate and generate content.
This edited collection seeks to delve into the multifaceted relationship between AI technology and the art and practice of documentary, exploring how AI is reshaping the creation, distribution and reception of non-fiction storytelling. Contributions from scholars, filmmakers and technologists critically examine the implications of this intersection, inviting readers to explore the nuances and complexities of this evolving landscape. In doing so, they rethink the possibilities of documentary as a creative treatment of actuality and raise important questions about documentary’s role in the power structures of a new data colonialist world order.