Determining Authorship for Generative AI Photography using Social Constructionism Theory

SUN JING, Juliana Aida binti Abu Bakar

Abstract


Abstract: The rise of generative AI in photography has disrupted conventional notions of authorship, challenging legal, aesthetic, and cultural frameworks that historically centered on human creators. This study proposes a theoretical model based on social constructionism to investigate how authorship in AI-generated photography is shaped through institutional discourse, curatorial practice, technological mediation, and social perception. Rather than treating authorship as a fixed legal status or a property of the creator, the model frames it as a socially negotiated construct that emerges within dynamic networks of meaning-making. Drawing on interdisciplinary sources from computational creativity, visual culture, and art sociology, the paper outlines key mechanisms through which AI-generated images gain artistic legitimacy and are attributed authorship. This approach offers an alternative to ontological(i.e., concerning the nature of being or existence) or techno-deterministic(i.e., assuming technology drives social change independently) views by emphasizing the relational and discursive processes involved in the authorship of computational images. The framework provides a foundation for evaluating agency, value, and credit in post-photographic practices shaped by artificial intelligence.

Keywords: AI-generated photography, authorship framework, computational creativity, social constructionism, visual media

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References


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