Reality is our standard.

For more than 40 years, laif agency has stood for high-quality photography. The photographers represented by laif make an important contribution to describing the world and commenting on our present. In times of fake news, A.I.-generated images and increasing media criticism, they create trust with their work.

Only with strict journalistic standards and an honest, reflective approach to images can society’s trust in photography be maintained and strengthened. The possibilities of artificial intelligence for generating images are not compatible with laif’s self-image and values. A.I.-generated images are not photographs and should not be labeled as such, even if their photo-realistic presentation gives this impression.

Therefore, we have explicitly asked all our photographers and partner agencies not to send any A.I.-generated images to laif. Should our editorial team discover images in our archive that were purely machine-generated, they will be deleted immediately.

This information is not a general statement or opinion on the use and possible applications of generative A.I. We merely want to make clear which journalistic self-image laif feels obliged to as a photo agency and to point out to our customers and our partner network that they cannot expect A.I.-generated images from us. Our basis is reality, on the basis of which camera-generated photographs are created that reflect a real event or real people.

laif is a member of the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) and actively supports the development and etablishment of an internationally uniform and open standard for the traceable authenticity of visual media. We also recognize the Code of Ethics of World Press Photo as a guideline for our handling of photographs.

Photo: Sven Döring/laif