AI in the commercial photography labour market. The effect of double-sided artificially intelligent platforms on the on-demand commercial photography labour market

Double-sided artificially intelligent platforms are something new, recently emerged. They claim to be disrupting the photography processes and promise new opportunities to freelance photographers. The algorithms of such platforms take over the majority of the tasks previously performed by photographers, including client search, client booking, administration, post-processing of images, accounting as well as hiring. One matter that still cannot be replaced, however, is the photoshoot process itself as photographers still need to go to a location in person to take photos and, therefore, be hired. The objective of this thesis is to study how the emergence of these artificially intelligent double-sided platforms affects the on-demand commercial photography labour market. It is interesting and important to research how these process innovations affect the photography labour market in general, the income and attention distribution within the market, photographers’ transaction costs as well as the opportunities and threats brought by the use of AI technology. To what extent are the algorithms impacting the often visible in the artist markets superstar effects and the level of transaction costs? Is it nothing but opportunities for the freelancers, as the companies promise? Or does the reality differ and to what extent? Are photographers who do not work for such innovative double-sided platforms perhaps better off? The research includes a comparative quantitative survey distributed among freelance commercial photographers who work for the said platforms as well as those photographers who work through other channels. The research tested notions of the superstar phenomenon, the long-tail hypothesis and the transaction cost theory. The findings show that photographers who work for AI-driven platforms earn less than photographers who work through other channels yet they do receive more jobs. They also value the opportunities of earning extra income through these markets but, at the same time, they do not find this income satisfactory. On the other hand, however, they do experience lower transaction costs than their peers who do not work through artificially intelligent platforms.