Truth, Technology, and the 2020s: Disinformation in the Age of AI.

A Discussion with David Carson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Join the American Studies Program for a discussion with David Carson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch who is currently serving as a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University.

In this discussion, he will address the current political and social landscape and the impact of generative AI technology on photojournalism and image-making in relation to issues of accuracy, authenticity, disinformation, and the representation of “truth.”

David Carson has decades of experience covering news, sports, and features. He is currently on leave from his job as a staff photographer at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. During his fellowship, Carson is focused on the impacts of AI-generated images on photojournalism and how to build public trust in news photography.

His images are featured extensively in the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography that was awarded to Post-Dispatch’s photo staff for their “stunning photojournalism that served the community while informing the country” during the social unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, following the police shooting of teenager Michael Brown. Additionally, he was a member of the newspaper’s staff that was a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for their coverage of a mass-shooting during a suburban city council meeting.

Carson’s assignments for the Post-Dispatch have taken him around the globe, from New York City in the early hours after the 9/11 terror attacks to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But much of his work is focused on the St. Louis community, where he seeks storytelling moments of everyday life, social justice issues and gun violence. He’s also covered Presidential debates, two World Series, and a Super Bowl.