The functional obsolescence of image collections in the era of AI-generated content

Abstract

This article examines the functional obsolescence of still and moving image repositories from a Library and Information Science and Audiovisual Documentation perspective, in a context shaped by the emergence of generative artificial intelligence. Through a theoretical and bibliographic review, it explores the historical transformations of repositories from analog photography and audiovisual recording to the networked digital ecosystem, highlighting the factors that explain their centrality as providers of access and circulation for documentary, journalistic, and cultural visual and audiovisual content. The study demonstrates how AI’s capacity to produce realistic synthetic images and audiovisual representations profoundly disrupts the visual documentation value chain, jeopardizing traditional business models and established access logics, and shifting interest toward authenticity certification, the preservation of visual and audiovisual memory, and the management of irreproducible heritage. The article concludes by outlining conceptual frameworks and future research avenues addressing the legal, ethical, and epistemological challenges of this scenario for audiovisual repositories.