How David Baksh Explores AI-Imagery’s Insidious Impact in 'The Moment of Truth'

"If we cannot trust what we're seeing, then we won’t trust anything – and our sense of what is possible unravels." 

That unsettling quote comes from the mouth of Flora Smith, managing partner at the Topfoto Archive, interviewed as part of Annex director David Baksh’s ‘The Moment of Truth’. She is, of course, referring to the onslaught of AI-generated imagery confusing the lines between real and fake, and its repercussions on the way we interact with the world around us. 

It’s one of the most pressing issues of today; but it’s not one that the Annex director shies away from. He’s adamant that we must not be intimidated into passivity – because we’re not actually powerless.

To demonstrate what must be done and why, ‘The Moment of Truth’ examines how AI-generated pollution undermines our visual history and human creativity by platforming the archivists, artists, and technologists racing to protect them. 

You can hear from these experts directly on Tuesday 25th February, as they participate in a panel discussion on gen AI following an industry screening of the film, hosted by Creative UK. Tickets can be reserved here.

On the morning of the film’s official premiere at the London Short Film Festival, David swung by the Little Black Book office to chat to Zara Naseer, unpacking the inspiration behind the film, his documentary-making process, and why – and most importantly, how – our trust in reality must be fought for.

LBB> How did this film and partnership with Topfoto come about?

David> I’d been speaking to Flora [Smith, managing director] at Topfoto about a completely different documentary project, and found out that they represent a collection of photographs by Ken Russell. So I went to see them in the middle of nowhere, in this treasure trove of the visual record stretching from the dawn of photography up until now – and it gave me the notion that there were a lot of stories to tell.

We started talking about deepfakes and AI-generated images and what they’re going to mean for a picture agency. So I did two PSAs for them called ‘Reality Checked’, flagging that there’s more reason than ever to go to a picture agency and use the real thing. Flora then told me in passing about how she'd seen fake images of the Windrush landing online – Topfoto has an archive of it which she knows very well, so when she didn’t recognise any of the people in these new photos, it had really freaked her out. I knew there was a story there to explore. 

LBB> Focal points include gen-AI images of the Windrush generation, political figures, photography, and more – how did you select which examples to spotlight?

David> When you're making a documentary, even a short one, you need an arc. You need a way for people to get into the story and understand why it matters. So Flora humanises the dilemma with stories about the real people on the Windrush and what they went on to do.

That leads nicely on to what we can actually do about it: in the same way that the threat is technology, the answer to it is technology as well. So Dr Manny Ahmed [founder and CEO, OpenOrigins] – one of those people we really need to save the world – talks about how he’s making image sources observable and verifiable.

Then we move into the world of photography with Tim Flach, president of The Association of Photographers and a well-renowned photographer himself. He gives the skinny on how AI-generated images are scraped from artists and photographers, speaking from first-hand experience for the thousands of others who don't have as big a voice.

All those bits coming together are what make it a good watch, without us feeling like we're screwed. It shows that there are people in our corner committed to protecting truth. To amplify that is really the purpose of the film. 

LBB> What’s the most shocking thing you learnt during the making of the film?

David> How passive we are in accepting the nature of technological change as it's pushed by the companies themselves, which is as a force of nature: ‘it’s just the way it is’, ‘adapt or die.’ Our legislators are in awe – Sunak invited Elon Musk over for his tech summit and it was cringe – so they accept everything they say at face value.

It’s very dispiriting to a lot of people, but it doesn't have to be unremittingly bad. This film empowers us to see that we can do something, even if it’s just becoming more discerning as an audience.

LBB> The music really sets the tone – how did you work with composer Callum Stephens to realise your vision for it?

David> Foolishly, I cut everything to temp tracks from soundtracks I already knew – which you should never ever do – and then I had to sit down with Callum and explain what I felt the film needed in terms of its emotion and journey.

Usually a composer will give you a few tracks or fragments, but Callum didn't do that. He scored the whole thing – even though if the cuts changed he'd have to rescore. When someone creates something so complete that obviously complements what you’ve done so well, there really isn't much to say. He got it brilliantly.

LBB> Now the film is out there, what impact do you hope for it to have? Has it changed the way you’ll interact with gen AI moving forward?

David> I've been quite promiscuous in entering it into festivals here, there, and everywhere, because I think it’s something a room of people who are engaged in this industry need to see. 

I've got a split personality with all this stuff. It's something that is being done to me as a consumer, as a citizen; but I'm also a filmmaker, and it's an amazing tool for visualising, notebooking, ideation. But I’ve also got to be aware of how to use it ethically as a creative. 

I haven't used it to produce music – I'm a musician myself, so maybe it’s a sore topic for me – but I have been on music generation websites. They’re amazing, but they're not an end product, in the same way that Midjourney isn't an end product. It's nothing you’d be proud to present.

LBB> How will deepfakes and gen AI impact how the future looks for the creative industries?

David> A lot of advertising is going to be AI-generated – it won’t be good, but it’ll serve a purpose for a particular segment of a particular market – but there’ll always be a premium on authenticity.

There's always going to be more value in something when you know that people who cared put effort and taste into it. I think that's why, generally speaking, we're going to be fine. It may become niche in the way that vinyl is niche, but it's still important and still there – this thing that was supposed to have died years ago is still going strong. Producing credentials for everything you do will grow in importance, with work becoming as much about the process as the artefact.

One school of thought is that the pool AI pulls from becomes so polluted with slop that it degrades the outputs you're prompting. It might become so bad that it sorts itself out.

LBB> How does ‘The Moment of Truth’ compare to the rest of your body of work?

David> My prior work has been very organic and observational; this isn't that. I knew very early on that this film needed to be more direct, authored, and deliberate in its style. It’s a more considered filmic piece, and I had to think more like a drama director.

Usually I just fall into a scene and find out what the story is, but this had more of a predetermined take before we rolled the camera. It suits the story better – I wanted clarity so that the frames could breathe and you could take everything in. It's a dense film and I didn't want it to be an information dump, or wave after wave of disaster, so it had to be finely crafted. I’d like to see more documentaries like that, almost in the realm of essays with no presenter.