This chapter pleads for a dialogue between the AI community and designers concerning “the nature of image understanding, image use, and the social and political implications of images.” Readers involved in Computer-Aided Art and Design (CAAD) will be challenged to think beyond the technology.

“Historically, images have been used for mnemonic, didactic and propagandic purposes.” As technology improves, the ability to produce “artwork not visually distinguishable from more traditionally produced artwork” increases. “Imagine the situation where the image of a person in political power was always subtly enhanced to look benevolent and attractive and the image of another was always subtly twisted or exaggerated to look slightly grotesque.” This concern is not resolved but is presented in a thoughtful context.