Director David Baksh Fights the Fakes for The Topfoto Archive

The Topfoto Archive has seen a lot in its near-hundred-year history. But whereas each past wave of social and technological progress has added to their rich and vibrant collection of images spanning from the earliest days of photography to the present, the arrival of photo- realistic AI image generators now presents a unique threat, not just to the Topfoto Archive, its photographers, and other picture libraries – but to reality itself.

Already in contact through a documentary project, Topfoto MD, Flora Smith and writer- director Annex Film’s David Baksh, found themselves discussing the sudden emergence and rapid progress of AI imagery within both their fields and voicing similar concerns.

Featuring a cast of Topfoto’s archivists and aimed primarily at creative professionals working in the image-based industries, the two 40-second films in Topfoto’s ‘Reality Checked’ campaign, ‘FAKE’ and ‘PROMPT’, give a rousing defence of the lasting power of the real image over the cheap thrill of the fake – and show what we risk when the line between them becomes blurred.

Flora Smith, Topfoto’s MD and owner says, “Like many family-founded firms, Topfoto sees great potential in new tools that help improve our services and working environment, but the assault on truth, academia, news reporting and creative practice is real and needs to be deftly defanged by all of us working in the creative industries ecosystem. We are so lucky to work with David and Annex Films on this, our first professional campaign, at such a crucial time with so much at stake. Human resonance requires human reality, the kind of true stories and images that are humming in our archive.”

David Baksh sums up the dilemma now facing every professional working across the image-based arts, “There are few aspects of life that will be untouched by the AI revolution. Yet, we remain largely unprepared for both its impact and its aftermath. Like grazing dinosaurs, we have all looked up and been dazzled by the lightshow, only to be hit by the realisation that the oncoming collision could be existential. As filmmakers, creatives, designers, and art directors, we’re all excited by this technology – but if we don’t constantly challenge how and why we’re using it, we’ll end up losing much more than we gain.”