No one saw this coming. It was only 15-20 years ago when the first digital cameras started to fill shelves in stores. I remember buying my first one back in 2002, a 2-megapixel HP brand camera. I could take as many photos as I wanted, for "free"!
Since then, a true digital revolution has happened. The amount of detail you can get from almost any modern camera is outstanding. Even your smartphone that fits in your pocket is better than most (if not all) of the cameras from 10 years ago.
We are now entering a second phase of this digital revolution, and it involves, of course, AI. Smartphones like the Pixel 2 are able to recognize what they are seeing, adjusting the settings to the scene. I'm speculating here, but I'd think it could set a high shutter speed if you are moving to avoid blur, or even when taking a photo of your dog because it's likely they'll move.
The possibilities of adding a layer of software on top of an already awesome camera are pretty much endless. All this is great for journalism, sports, to communicate with family and many other things. And it can only get better and better from here.
But something else is happening. In a world where hyper realistic images are the norm, people seem to be embracing noisy, gritty, blurry, faulty photography more and more every day. We all know there are literally hundreds of apps to add noise and vintage looks to your photos and videos. Even film has seen some popularity increase as well.
Reality is overrated: human beings need to express themselves and people have been using photography to do so for more than a hundred years now. Be it a pinhole camera or a new app full of crazy filters.
Photography, in its true sense -drawing with light-, has peaked a long time ago technologically speaking. We have the tools we need, all is left is a human using those tools to make some art.
They used to say photography was for people who didn't know how to draw. Remember this the next time you are taking a photo with your smartphone. Don't capture what you are seeing, try to draw it.